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 organizer 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 organizer's site has the rest.

Dates: where a date is shown, it comes from the organizer's own page (last checked Oct 25, 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 center.

Rivers, folk music and ideas

Bank holiday (public 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. Organizers change dates: check before you book.

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

More seasonal guides

All seasonal guides