UK Festivals. Famous festivals and national celebrations
In the country a large number of festivals and holidays, the vast majority of them musical or sports.
Celtic culture and music festivals open festival New Year , they take place from January 13th and last until the end of January in the city of Glasgow, this is in Scotland. As you imagine, the main actors there will be men in Celtic skirts playing bagpipes. Over two hundred events will take place in Glasgow these days. cultural events, in which both British performers and from the USA, Canada, France, and Spain will take part.
Valentine's Day February 14th in the UK popular holiday, flowers, especially red roses and valentines with the obligatory inscription “To You, with Love from Valentine” (with Love from Valentine) required attributes this event. As we all know, Valentines are simply cards with hearts and words of love or friendship.
Following Valentine's Day comes St David's Day The first of March is a cultural and patriotic holiday for all residents of Wales. The holiday is celebrated in the city of Cardiff; on this day it is customary to wear national clothes, a traditional holiday dish is leek soup. Even the Empire State Building will be illuminated in green, red and white on this day, but this will be in New York.
Another Saint's day, this time Patrick's celebrated on the seventeenth of March. This Irish holiday is widely celebrated in many European countries, as well as in the USA and Canada. Costume parades with brass instruments take place throughout the cities of Great Britain. The symbol of this day is everywhere green color, which is present everywhere and in everything from green clothes to green beer.
If we celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th, then in the UK there is a similar analogue - mothers Day, it is usually celebrated on the eighteenth of March or on the next day off, namely the fourth Sunday of Lent. On this day, all women, and especially mothers, rest, and all of them hard work They are performed by children or husbands. Families in the UK go out to restaurants or stay home for a festive dinner with a traditional treat - simnel cake, decorated with 12 marzipan balls. It is mandatory to congratulate your mothers, no matter where you are. If you are a foreign tourist, you can also congratulate yours at home, perhaps it will be an educational surprise for your mother.
pay attention to first of April in UK, only the laziest can avoid making fun of friends and friends; jokes usually take place only in the first half of the day, but in Scotland this holiday lasts two days. The second of April is called Tail Day here, you can put buttons or devices that make indecent sounds in society, you can also discreetly stick a sticker on the back of the poor fellow with the call - Give me a kick. Remember that these days the best joke is the one that the fool laughs at.
Preceded Catholic Easter Good Friday , on this day many institutions and companies may not work; services and prayer services are held in churches. On the first full moon Sunday after spring equinox Between 22 March and 25 April Easter is widely celebrated in the UK. For all British people this is the most important holiday, festive table decorates an Easter cake (simnel cake) and dyes eggs, a more serious appetizer is baked lamb with vegetables, and on Sunday mornings for tea you can always try hot cross buns. Friends or relatives in the UK are given both real painted eggs and, for example, chocolate or souvenir eggs, as well as other sweets. Easter eggs, a symbol of new life - a traditional attribute of Easter, for children it is great fun. And it consists of finding these eggs, which the kids themselves had painted the day before. Children are absolutely sure that they left the eggs somewhere along with the basket and other sweets at night. Easter Bunny. Children's competitions to find eggs are fun; the one who finds the most eggs will receive the main prize of the holiday. But the main festive events take place, of course, in churches and temples in Great Britain, with services held in the morning and organ music concerts in the evening. Be sure to wear this day new clothes, as a symbol of the end of the bad weather season and the approach of summer.
Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is celebrated on April 21st both at Windsor Castle and throughout Britain.
Virgin London Marathon marathon in London, in which everyone can take part on April 22. The distance is quite serious 26.2 miles, after which there are street performances, festivities, snacks in pubs. The race is paid, you must first make a cash contribution, which is later transferred to charity. More than fifteen thousand participants take part in the marathon every year; other Londoners who do not want to run take part in street performances, for which they prepare in advance.
Walpurgis Night – pagan holiday, is widely celebrated in Great Britain on the night from the thirtieth of April to the first of May. According to legend, the witches' Sabbath takes place on Mount Brocken in Germany, and in the UK there should be wilderness and bonfires.
Beltane celebrated on the first of May, the holiday of driving cattle to summer pastures. On the same day, the Rochester Chimney Sweep Festival takes place in England, a colorful procession with dancing. This profession is still in demand, since the country has many ancient buildings that require specific care. Meeting a chimney sweep is considered great happiness; chimney sweeps are often invited to weddings.
The Whiskey Festival takes place on the third of May in the UK., a particularly large-scale action takes place in Speyside (Spirit of Speyside Whiskey Festival) in Scotland. Moreover, it is followed by other similar festivals throughout the summer, the final one being the Autumn Speyside Whiskey Festival in September. As for the city of Speyside, there are more than a hundred whiskey distilleries. Of course, the most interesting part of the festival is the tasting of this exquisite drink, including especially aged and rare varieties. Collectors meet here, producers exchange experiences, but at the same time keep their secrets. You can attend national Scottish parties, dinners at distilleries, take part in competitions (quick barrel construction), visit exhibitions, whiskey museums and folk music evenings. By the way, Saint Patrick is considered the inventor of whiskey.
May holidays in Great Britain take place in cities with street processions folk festivals, but May Day has a medieval twist.
Spring Bank Holiday in the UK celebrated on the last Monday of May. As usual, festivals or new exhibitions open in many UK cities on this day.
Birthday of the English Monarch celebrated on the first and second Saturday of June. On this day they hang on buildings state flag, and a ceremonial parade takes place at the residence of the British kings in Whitehall.
Scottish Independence Day is celebrated on June 24th. On these same days, as usual, the Wimbledon tennis tournament starts, which becomes the main event in the country for two weeks.
Edinburgh Fringe Arts Festival Held annually in early August. The festival presents all types of arts - from musicals to comedy, from opera to dance.
Peterborough Beer Festival takes place on the twentieth of August. More than forty thousand people visit the festival every year.
The Battle of Trafalgar Day is celebrated in the UK on October 21st. the Royal Navy's victory over the combined fleet of France and Spain at the Battle of Trafalgar. Today you can admire the parade navy, a procession from London's Mall to Trafalgar Square.
All Saints' Day in Great Britain celebrated, as throughout the world, on the first of November, and Halloween is widely celebrated the night before.
One of the most important holidays in Great Britain is Christmas, which is traditionally celebrated on December 25th. The whole country lights up with festive lanterns and lights on the eve of the holiday; even families who do not identify themselves with any religious denomination celebrate it. Christmas trees are installed in squares and living rooms. Houses are also decorated with toys, garlands, wreaths and sprigs of mistletoe, which are hung from the ceiling. Christmas is usually celebrated in family circle, behind dining table The whole family and loved ones gather. The dishes of the Christmas table are strictly traditional - turkey with baked vegetables is always served, and the hostess prepares Christmas pudding for dessert. Another treat is specially brewed mulled wine. December 26th is Boxing Day - on this day it is customary to exchange souvenirs and go on joint walks.
January 5, in anticipation Christian Baptism, Twelfth Night is celebrated. On this day, it is necessary to remove everything from the house and from the street. holiday decorations, otherwise all next year will be unsuccessful. Those decorations that remain in the house cannot be removed until next Christmas, otherwise the owner of the house will suffer misfortunes. On February 14, lovers celebrate Valentine's Day by exchanging love-themed cards and gifts. Great Britain is a monarchy, the entire population of the country loves and honors the royal family, and therefore the birthday of the queen (king) is considered national holiday. It has been celebrated separately from the actual date of birth of the reigning monarch for more than 300 years. The holiday takes place on the first, second or third Saturday of June, and a military parade is held in honor of the queen or king, attended by all members of the royal dynasty. Ends bright and noisy holiday with a grand fireworks display.
It is also customary to celebrate the New Year in Great Britain with a parade. The British spend the night with family and close friends, New Year's Eve they treat it like a new frontier. On this night, it is customary to make promises to yourself, set goals and make grandiose plans for the next year. At 12 noon on January 1, a colorful parade starts in London. It is attended by acrobats, dancers, musicians and actors. On the fourth Sunday during Lent, the British celebrate Mother's Day. On this holiday, you definitely need to visit your mother or grandmother, give her flowers or at least a postcard. During the Easter celebration it is customary to exchange chocolate eggs and special buns with a cross pattern. Easter celebrations begin on Friday, rituals end and holiday events only on Monday. Copyright www.site
The main holiday in Northern Ireland is St. Patrick's Day, the patron saint of this country, celebrated on the day of his death, March 17. The holiday is celebrated throughout the UK, in a number of cities in the USA and other countries. A large parade is being held in London to mark St. Patrick's Day. A two-week Irish festival is taking place in Manchester, which includes a market and cultural events. The festival ends with a colorful parade. But the main events take place in Belfast, the streets are filled with green decorations and decorations, even the water in the fountains is colored green. October 21st is celebrated unofficial holiday Apple Day. Within its framework, fairs are held where you can not only buy apples, but also try dozens of different dishes made from this fruit, as well as take part in funny apple competitions.
One of the most significant events in the fashion world takes place in London. London Fashion Week attracts the most famous designers, world cinema and show business stars come to the fashion show. The event takes place twice a year - in February and September, best houses British fashion shows new collections to the public at fashion shows. The very original Straw Bear Festival is held in the area around Cambridge. During the parade, processions with straw stuffed bears pass through the streets, which are burned at the stake at the end of the holiday. At the beginning of August, Mansfield hosts a festival dedicated to the legendary English hero Robin Hood, accompanied by theatrical performances and historical reenactments of battles. In February, York, which was the capital of the Viking kingdom many centuries ago, hosts the Viking Festival. Residents of the city transform into fearless warriors and participate in impromptu battles.
Everyone knows with what sublime metaphors poets love to glorify the foggy Albion. Think about what associations come to your mind when you hear about Great Britain? I think, for the most part, the Queen, the Tower, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, pubs, rain, fog and so on on the list. What associations should arise in the head of a fan of good music? That's right, festivals. 
The festival has already firmly established itself as one of the most interesting events important point in the entertainment program for many music fans. Even if you are not an ardent fan of creativity certain group or a singer, you can have a great time lounging in the sun and expanding your musical tastes by soaking up the music that reaches your ears.
The UK is the best place to visit music festivals and see the country at the same time. Therefore, I would like to present to your attention the largest and most interesting festivals.
1.Leeds And Reading
A double festival where you can hear your favorite performers. One of the oldest festivals in the world. The main directions are punk, rock, alternative, metal and, of course, soul-warming indie. Leeds And Reading is especially famous for the fact that the band Nirvana gave their last UK concert here in 1992, and the band's leader, Kurt Cobain, went on stage in a wheelchair.
Where: Leeds and Reading respectively, England
When: end of August, it is better to check the dates on the official website.
Who: Classic British rock, the best of those musicians that Foggy Albion gave us. Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, Iron Maiden The Killers, Oasis, Blur and many others
2.Glastonbury
Also popularly known as Glasto, it is one of the main music events of the year in the UK, as is Leeds. The number of people who come here for a “musical holiday” is almost 150,000. You must agree, this is not a small number. According to the number of visitors and the scope of the festival.
Where: a few kilometers from Glastonbury, England
When: last weekend of June.
Who: the same classic representatives of British rock Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, as well as The Prodidgy, Pendulum, The Verve, and in 2009 Lady Gaga performed at the festival
3.Mathew Street Music Festival
One of the largest festivals of so-called free music. You can come here to expand the boundaries of your musical tastes and hear many new bands from Canada, Italy, France and other countries. Also a definite plus is that, unlike the previous two, Mathew Street Music Festival is free. Moreover, it began its existence as a festival dedicated to the music of the Beatles.
Where: Mathew Street, Liverpool, England
When: last weekend of August.
Who: The participants change every year, it is unlikely that you will find super-popular groups here. However, ACDC has been announced for 2012, so this event should not be missed.
4.Download Festival
A two-day festival for true connoisseurs of heavy music. This is where it’s worth having a blast. On several stages you can find music for truly sophisticated listeners. Download is a fairly young festival; it was first held in 2003. But even then the headliners were the monsters and fathers of heavy metal Iron Maiden. If this name means something to you, then you can safely go to this festival.
Where: Donington Park Circuit, England
When: end of spring
Who: 30 seconds to mars, Korn, Alice Cooper, Pendulum, Rob Zombie, Def Leppard, Linkin Park, in general list is very diverse, and if you are interested, you can hear the new recruits who have joined the ranks of the army of heavy music.
5. The ‘V’ festival
A relatively young festival compared to Glasto and Leeds, however, it has managed to win the hearts of music lovers. As is customary, it takes place over two days.
Where: Chelmsford and Staffordshire at the same time. This interesting feature. You can choose the city that is more interesting to you, comparing it with your musical tastes, of course.
When: penultimate weekend of August
Who: all the popular British performers, here you have Lily Allen and The Killers in one bottle. In general, the choice is more than varied.
In general, the number of music festivals held in the UK is very large. And this applies not only to rock or pop music. Do you like jazz? So Glasgow is your destination. Moreover, music festivals in Foggy Albion are held almost all year round. But, of course, only in the summer in the open air you can get a huge number of impressions, and not only musical ones, meet new people and just have a great time. After all music Festival this is a special atmosphere and special emotions that you will not experience anywhere else.
Britain is famous not only for beer, humor and literature, but also for music. The country can safely be called the main exporter of talent of all shapes and sizes. If you carefully scroll through the charts of all countries in the world, 20 percent of albums and songs will be British.
I have collected a selection of 12 prominent festivals that take place annually in Britain. Some of them, unfortunately, are difficult or almost impossible to get tickets for, but you should still know about them in case you get lucky next year?
Isle Of Wight is a festival that takes place in Seaclose Park on the Isle of Wight. The festival was first organized in 1968. 1970 had probably one of the most desirable lineups for classic rock connoisseurs - The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Taste, Ten Years After, Emerson Lake and Palmer and many others. This year, the main performances were reserved for Queen, Stereophonics and Faithless. In addition, Everything Everything, Iggy Pop, Buzzcocks and many others will perform.
Where: Seacloses Park, Isle of Wight
How many: 145 to 195 pounds
Download Festival takes place every year at Donington Park in Leicestershire. This festival differs from most in that it is dedicated exclusively to heavy music. This year, the headliners were notable - Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deftones, Rammstein and Korn.
Where: Donington Park, Leicestershire
How many: from 150 pounds
The Parklife festival takes place in the glorious city of Manchester, which has given us such wonderful bands as The Stone Roses and Oasis. Held annually since 2010 in Heaton Park. The line-up combines the most different directions- from indie rock to house. This year's line-up is still unknown, but in the past everyone could see Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Mark Ronson, Jungle, Rudimental and many others.
Where: Heaton Park, Manchester
How many: 79 pounds
The Glastonbury Festival is held in Britain near the town of Glastonbury. It was founded by farmer Michael Eavis, who allowed musicians to stage shows on his farm. Since 1970, the festival was interrupted for only one year and for a very funny reason - because of the London Olympics in 2012, there was a demand for bio-toilets in the country, and the organizers of the festival could not afford to bring less toilets to the territory than required.
Glastonbury is renowned for its wide variety of cultural events. Starting from huge rock concerts and ending with the theater. Last year, they managed to lure none other than the current Dalai Lama as the headliner of one of the stages. This year the festival will take place from June 22 to 26. The lineup has yet to be announced, but you can be sure that Glastonbury will have one of the most powerful lineups of artists yet.
Where: farm near Glastonbury
How many: tickets sold out
The British Summer Time festival takes place every July in Royal Hyde Park in central London. The festival positions itself as a family festival, for which it has repeatedly received awards. The organizers are famous for being able to lure even the most hard-to-perform groups into headliners. Thus their stage was led by Blur and The Rolling Stones. This year's headliners will be Mumford & Sons, Florence + The Machine and Coldplay.
Where: Hyde Park, London
How many: from 60 pounds
The Latitude festival is young, but has already made a name for itself and manages to easily compete with other medium-sized festivals. It is distinguished from others by its beautiful venue - Henham Park, which rather resembles a forest. The park is located near the town of Southwold in Suffolk. This year's line-up will be announced later. Last year the festival featured alt-J, Caribou, Portishead, Noel Gallagher, The Vaccines, Savages, Django Django, Drenge and many more.
Where: Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk
How many: from 170 pounds
A small festival called Lovebox, which takes place in Victoria Park. The headliners are the current electronic duo Major Lazer and the legendary masters of dance-punk LCD Soundsystem. The latter band will play their only UK show this year.
Where: Victoria Park, London
How many: tickets sold out
The Wilderness Festival takes place in Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire in August. Music set This event is not the largest, despite the fact that it lasts three whole days. Here the emphasis is more on family time and the surrounding atmosphere. Last year the main stars were Björk, Funkadelic and Ben Howard.
Where: Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
How many: from 88 pounds
V Festival takes place every August in two parks in Essex and Staffordshire. In Essex it is Highlands Park, in Staffordshire it is Weston Park. The full name of the festival is Virgin Festival, which immediately refers to the main sponsors - the Virgin company, which is owned by tycoon Richard Branson. This year's lineup will only be announced at the end of the month, but last year the festival stage was trodden by Kasabian, The Kooks, Hozier, Sam Smith, James Bay, Paloma Faith and many others.
Where: Weston Park, Staffordshire and Highlands Park, Essex
The Electric Fields festival is held in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle, which is located in Thornhill. The two-day outdoor event next to the masterpiece of medieval architecture will this year be led by the Scots Primal Scream and the British Everything Everything.
Where: Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill
How much: 75-85 pounds.
Judging by the name, you can understand that the festival takes place in two large British cities - Reading and Leeds. Until 2007, a bunch of festivals were called "Carling Weekend", but due to the fact that the title sponsor, Carling beer, dropped out, the festivals were named after cities. They take place on the last weekend of August. The same artists are nominated for both festivals. The only difference is the days they perform.
This year's headliner will be the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's worth noting that these will be their only UK shows this year. In addition, Foals, Disclosure, The 1975, Two Door Cinema Club, Eagles Of Death Metal and many others will perform. The list of participants will be updated.
Where: Little John's Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds
How many: 213 lbs
Bestival is another music festival that takes place on the Isle of Wight, but in Robin Hill Park, every year since 2004 in early September. The trace of the ubiquitous British media corporation can be seen here too: the festival is organized by British BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank and his wife Josie. This year the headliners will be The Cure, Major Lazer, Hot Chip, and in total the list includes more than 100 names of varying degrees of popularity.
Where: Robin Hill Park, Isle of Wight
How many: from 190 pounds
