Roses in bloom in a London park
June to August

UK in summer: festivals, sport and long days out

Big sport and street festivals in London, and all of Edinburgh in August.

Summer is the busiest season for events in the UK. London has tennis, a royal parade, Pride and Carnival. Edinburgh fills up in August with the Fringe, the Tattoo and the book festival.

Where an organiser has published dates for next summer, we show them and link to the page that says so. For everything else we say when it usually happens, and the organiser's site has the rest.

Dates: where a date is shown, it comes from the organiser's own page (last checked 25 Oct 2026). Where it says "usually", the date is not confirmed: use the official link.

Dated events

Edinburgh in August

Three big events share the month. Book beds early and expect a busy city centre.

Rivers, folk music and ideas

Bank holiday

Before you go

  • If you want to be in Edinburgh in August, book rooms before tickets. Both go early.
  • Check each festival's own site for ticket rules before you travel.
  • The Scottish summer bank holiday falls at a different time from the English one, so check which applies to where you are going.

Sources

Pages we opened to write this guide. Organisers change dates: check before you book.

More: All events · Edinburgh · When to visit the UK · Free and cheap

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