- The Annual Events that take place in Britain throughout the year are listed below.
January
- New Year’s Day Parade, London
- 1 January. West End Parade with bands, acrobats and street performers.
- Celtic Connections, Glasgow
- 14-31 January. World Celtic Music Festival with Concerts, Talks and Workshops.
- Burns Night
- 25 January. Birthday of Robert Burns, National Poet of Scotland.
- St. Dwynwens’ Day
- 25 January. Welsh Patron Saint of Lovers, the equivalent of St. Valentine’s Day.
February
- Chinese New Year, Chinatown, London.
- Celebrations take place in Chinatown, the West End and Trafalgar Square.
- Six Nations Rugby Championship
- Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Twickenham, London.
- The Six Nations are England, Ireland, Italy, France, Scotland and Wales.
- Glasgow Film Festival.
- Third largest Film Festival in Britain.
March
- St. David’s Day, Wales
- 1 March. St. David is the Patron Saint of Wales. National St. David’s Day Parade in Cardiff.
- Glasgow International Comedy Festival
- One of the largest Events in Europe.
- Cheltenham Festival
- Four Day National Hunt Horse Racing Event ending with the best jump-racing Event, the Gold Cup.
- St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland
- 17 March. The Patron Saint of Ireland is celebrated with Parades and Festivals across N. Ireland and Britain.
- Cardiff Hall Marathon
- Marathon run through and around Cardiff.
April
- The Boat Race, Putney, London.
- The Boat Race takes place between Oxford University (the Dark Blues) and Cambridge University (the Light Blues) along a 4.2 mile (6.8 km) stretch of the Tidal Thames between Putney Bridge and Mortlake.
- The boats are 8 oared hulls (Eights) steered by a cox in the stern facing forwards.
- Grand National, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool
- Horse Jumping Event covering 4.5 miles (7.2km) with 2 circuits and 30 fences.
- London Marathon
- Usually held in April, this is a 26 mile (42 km) flat course single day event to raise money for charity.
- It is the third largest running event after the Great North Run and the Great Manchester Run.
- Highland Games
- Held across Scotland throughout the Year with Piping, Athletics and Highland Dancing.
- St. George’s Day
- 23 April. Celebrations held across Britain for the Patron Saint of England, with Dragon hunts and Banquets.
- Liverpool Sound City
- International Music Festival held over the Bank Holiday weekend.
- Spirit of Speyside Whiskey Festival
- Festival of Scotland’s Finest Whiskies over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
- Cheltenham Jazz Festival
- Held over the Bank Holiday weekend.
May
- Brighton Festival
- Starting on 1 May. Europe’s leading Art Festival with art, film, dance, music, theatre, literature and debates.
- FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium
- The oldest domestic Cup competition in Football.
- Chelsea Flower Show
- One of several Royal Horticultural Shows around Britain with Floral Displays.
- Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, Brecon Beacons National Park
- Held in a tented village with talks and readings by world famous authors.
June
- The Derby, Epsom Downs Racecourse
- Famous Flat Race in Horseracing.
- Trooping the Colour, The Queen’s Birthday
- Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall. The Queen takes part in a military Pageant accompanied by horses and music.
- Royal Ascot
- 5 days of Horse racing preceded each day at 2pm with the Royal Procession passing in Royal horse drawn Landaus.
- The Gold Cup is held on the Thursday, also referred to as ‘Ladies Day’ because it is a showcase for High Fashion.
- Isle of Wight Festival
- 4 day Music Festival.
- Royal Highland Show, Edinburgh
- A Festival of Scottish farming, food and rural life.
- Jane Austen Regency Week
- A 9 day festival held in Alton and nearby Chawton, Jane Austen’s House and Museum.
- Dining, singing, drama, talks and the Regency Ball.
- Stonehenge Summer Solstice
- 21 June. Held at Stonehenge, Wiltshire.
- Wimbledon Tennis Championships
- World famous tennis tournament that starts in the last week of June and lasts for 2 weeks.
- London Pride
- A festival of the LBGTQ+ community and ends with a carnival of floats, music and dancing.
- Edinburgh Film Festival
- A Festival of International Cinema that started in 1947.
July
- Round the Island Race, Isle of Wight
- A one day 50 mile (80km) yacht race, starting and finishing in Cowes, that attracts up to 1,700 competing vessels from around the world.
- RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
- The worlds’ largest flower show with floral displays.
- Formula One (F1) British Grand Prix, Silverstone
- The most important racing event in British Mororsport.
- The Open Championship, Royal St. George’s, Kent
- A Golf Championship also known as the Open or the British Open.
- The Royal Welsh Show, Llanelwedd, Powys
- 4 days of Livestock competitions with sports and other entertainment.
- RHS Flower Show, Tatton Park, Cheshire
- Horticultural Festival with floral displays.
- Goodwood Festival, Chichester
- Horserace with Flat racing at the Goodwood Estate
- Edinburgh Art Festival
- 4 weeks of Events and Exhibitions in Edinburgh’s galleries and museums.
- Cowes Week, Isle of Wight
- Sailing Event with over 1,000 yachts participating.
- The BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London
- Founded in 1895, it is an 8 week Event with classical music concerts held daily, ending with the Last Night of the Proms which includes the BBC Proms in the Park.
- Test Matches at Lord’s Cricket Ground, St. John’s Wood, London
- Lord’s was opened in 1814 and is known as the ‘Home of Cricket’.
August
- Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
- A three week Festival with Massed Pipe and Drums, Massed Military Bands and the Lone Piper in front of Edinburgh Castle.
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- The World’s largest Art Festival held over 3 weeks.
- Bristol International Balloon Festival
- A 4 day event held at the Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, with over 100 Hot Air Balloons taking off each dawn and afternoon.
- Edinburgh International Book Festival
- A 2 week Festival with famous authors giving talks and over 800 Events.
- Reading Festival
- This 3 day Event is Britain’s biggest Rock Music festival with 100,000 fans.
- Leeds Festival
- A similar Rock Music festival with 80,000 fans.
- Notting Hill Carnival
- Last weekend of August. Two day festival of Caribbean music and food with floats and costumes.
September
- Last Night of the Proms, Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park
- Usually takes place on the second Saturday in September and ends the 8 weeks of Proms Concerts. It includes the BBC Proms in the Park, held opposite the Royal Albert Hall in Hyde Park.
- London Fashion Week
- Catwalk Shows by the worlds’s top designers.
- Blackpool Illuminations
- Started in 1879, the Switch-On Festival Weekend begins a 66 day Light Display using over 1 million light bulbs over the 6.2 mile (10km) Promenade. Certain Tram Cars are also illuminated. A separate Event called the Blackpool Festival of Light sees artists display light events around the town.
- Great North Run, Newcastle upon Tyne
- It is the largest half marathon in the world with over 50,000 contestants running between Newcastle and South Shields.
- Goodwood Revival
- A 3 day Festival held at the Goodwood Circuit for cars that would have competed there between 1948-1966.
October
- Cheltenham Literature Festival
- A one week festival held in Cheltenham, events include Book Launches and Talks by authors and other literary figures.
- BFI London Film Festival, Southbank
- Films and Documentaries screened from around the world with talks by leading Directors and Actors.
November
- Guy Fawkes Night
- 5 November. Also known as Bonfire Night, most towns and cities in Britain celebrate with an organised event where an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burnt on a large bonfire, accompanied by a firework display.
- Oxford Street Christmas Lights
- The annual Switch On ceremony for the main shopping street in central London has been presented by a celebrity ever since 1959.
- Leeds International Film Festival
- Events are held at all the city’s major venues including the Leeds Town Hall.
- Kendal Mountain Festival, Cumbria
- The world’s biggest mountain festival hosting outdoor sports, art, film and literature.
- Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, London
- An Ice Rink hosts top shows, and there is a Ferris wheel with other rides accompanied by a Winter Market.
December
- The Great Christmas Pudding Race, Brighton and London
- Teams race wearing fancy dress race around a 500 ft (150m) obstacle course holding a christmas pudding on a paper plate. Obstacles consist of slippery inflatables, jets of foam, limbo poles, and balloons filled with flour.
- Hogmanay
- 31 December to 2nd January. Scotland’s New Year’s Eve Festival celebrated everywhere in Scotland with street parties, open-air concerts and fireworks.
Image above: The Angel of the North, Newcastle upon Tyne, home of the Great North Run held in September.