Lichfield Proms 2026 took place in Beacon Park on Saturday 5 September. The council holds it on the first Saturday of September each year, and 2027 booking has not opened.
Lichfield Proms 2026 has been and gone. It took place in Beacon Park on Saturday 5 September, with the fireworks finale at 9.45pm. If you have arrived here looking for this year’s event, you have missed it.
The next one has no published date. Lichfield District Council’s standing page for the event says it “takes place each year on the first Saturday in September”. In 2027 that Saturday is 4 September, but the council has not announced 2027 and will not open booking until next summer. This year’s event was announced on 18 June and free tickets went on sale after that, so expect the same pattern.
The council had published no attendance figure or review of the 2026 night when we checked on 12 September. Its standing page says the event attracts up to 10,000 visitors, and its June release said more than 8,000 came in 2025.
How the 2026 event ran
The rest of this page records how 2026 worked, because the format changes little from year to year and it is the best guide to what to plan for in 2027.
Entry was free. The council’s tourism site, which runs the ticketing, told people who had not pre-booked to “simply turn up on the evening” (Visit Lichfield, Lichfield Proms). Four things were sold through the booking site, and by the Thursday before the event all four had gone:
- General admission, free: off sale
- Table of four, £90: off sale
- Table of six, £115: off sale
- Deckchair, £10 each: sold out
Gazebo pitches were also sold, split for the first time into three numbered rows. The council said 19 food and drink traders appeared for the first time, on a new stage with a new screen (Lichfield District Council, 2 September).
The lesson for 2027 is that the paid seating goes early. If you want a table or a deckchair, book in the week the announcement lands, not the week of the event.
The running order
The published running order put the food and drink village open from 3pm, the City of Lichfield Concert Band on at 6pm, the British Police Symphony Orchestra at 7.30pm and again at 9pm after an interval, fireworks at 9.45pm and the close at 10pm. The council’s own release had said the band started at 6.30pm; the event page, the council’s standing page and the railway’s guide all said 6pm.
Parking: the free window applies to any Beacon Park event
Dedicated event parking at Beacon Park was £5 a vehicle, bookable only alongside premium seating. Everyone else used the ordinary council car parks, and the useful detail holds for any evening event in the park: the three car parks serving it stop charging in the middle of the afternoon.
- Shaw Lane (WS13 7AG, 39 spaces) and Greenhough Road (WS13 7AW, 77 spaces) charge from 7.30am to 3.30pm
- Bunkers Hill on Lower Sandford Street (WS13 6RA, 58 spaces) charges from 10am to 4pm
Those hours come from the council’s own records for Shaw Lane, Greenhough Road and Bunkers Hill. Arrive inside the charging window and the all-day rate at all three is £10, the most expensive full day in Lichfield. Arrive after it and there is nothing to pay.
The city centre long stay car parks, including the 365-space Friary multi storey, charge until 6.30pm and cost £4.30 for 24 hours. Our guide to parking in Lichfield has the full tariffs, the blue badge bays and the PayByPhone codes for every car park.
Getting there by train
Lichfield City station is a 12 to 15 minute walk from the park gates, through the city centre by St John Street, Bird Street and Swan Road. West Midlands Railway’s Proms guide gave the direct journey as 38 minutes from Birmingham New Street, 24 minutes from Chester Road, 19 minutes from Sutton Coldfield and 9 minutes from Blake Street, with the last train out of Lichfield City at 11.33pm on the night. Our Lichfield train times page covers the wider timetable.
What it means for you
- The 2026 Proms is over. Nothing is bookable for 2027 yet.
- The council says the event is held on the first Saturday of September. Watch for the announcement in June, when this year’s arrived.
- Paid tables and deckchairs sold out weeks before the 2026 event. Book on announcement day if you want one next year.
- The car park free window, 3.30pm at Shaw Lane and Greenhough Road and 4pm at Bunkers Hill, applies every day, not only on Proms night.
Beacon Park has had a busy summer: padel courts opened in July and an accessible bouncer in August. What is on next in the district, including the Bonfire Night displays, is in our things to do in Lichfield guide, and road closures and travel updates are on our Lichfield roadworks and travel page.
Sources
- Lichfield District Council, Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park, the council’s standing page, for “each year on the first Saturday in September”, the history since 1998, the up to 10,000 visitors and the 6pm and 7.30pm stage times. Re-read 12 September 2026.
- Lichfield District Council, Lichfield Proms returns this Saturday with new stage, screen and expanded food and drink village, 2 September 2026 for the 3pm village opening, the 6.30pm band time, the 19 new traders and the new stage and screen.
- Lichfield District Council, latest news, checked 12 September 2026, for the absence of any post-event release.
- Visit Lichfield, Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park for the running order, the 9.45pm fireworks, the 10pm close, the £5 event parking, the £10 deckchairs and the statement that pre-booking had closed and no ticket was needed.
- Ontick, Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park 2026 for the ticket types, the £90 and £115 table prices and the off-sale and sold-out markers.
- Lichfield District Council, Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park returns this September, 18 June 2026 for the announcement date and the 2025 attendance of more than 8,000.
- West Midlands Railway, How to get to Lichfield Proms by train, 27 August 2026 for the journey times, the walk from the station and the 11.33pm last train.
- Lichfield District Council car park records for Shaw Lane, Greenhough Road and Bunkers Hill for the charging hours, space counts and the £10 all-day rate.
Updated 12 September 2026: rewritten after the event. The original version, published on 3 September, was a guide to the night itself.
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