Cambridge City Council lists Fireworks Night for 5 November 2026, with everything else unconfirmed. Last year it moved to a Saturday, and there is no bonfire.

Cambridge City Council has opened a page for this year’s Fireworks Night on Midsummer Common, and so far it carries one piece of information: a date.

The council’s City Events site lists Fireworks Night for 5 November 2026. Under description it says “More information coming soon!” and under ticket information it says “Details for this event have not yet been confirmed”. The start time field shows 00:00, which is a placeholder rather than a time. Nothing else about the 2026 event has been published by the council anywhere, and there has been no announcement on the council’s own news feed as of 5 September.

That matters more than it sounds, because of what happened last year.

The date is listed, but it is not settled

Fireworks Night has been a Cambridge fixture for more than 20 years, and the council’s sponsorship page describes it as the largest free pyrotechnic display in the East of England, drawing more than 25,000 people to Midsummer Common.

In 2025 the council did not hold it on 5 November. It held it on Saturday 1 November, and said why in its announcement: “The event will take place at the weekend to ensure as many as possible are able to attend and people don’t miss out.”

5 November 2026 falls on a Thursday. The council’s listing shows that date, but the listing is a shell with no times and no confirmed details, so it is not evidence that the council has decided against moving to the nearest Saturday, which would be 7 November. Until the council publishes an announcement, either date is possible.

Two listings are already circulating that should not be relied on:

  • Visit Cambridge still carries a Cambridge Fireworks Night page dated 5th November 2024, with 2024’s running order on it. It is two years out of date.
  • At least one third-party events site has a 7 November 2026 entry, but the text underneath it is the council’s 2025 press release, headline and all. A recycled description on a guessed date is not a confirmation.

Cam News will update this page the day the council announces.

What was confirmed for 2025, and what usually carries over

The council announced the 2025 event on 1 October 2025, about a month before it ran. Expect this year’s announcement around the start of October.

Last year’s confirmed detail, which is the best guide to the shape of the evening:

2025
Date Saturday 1 November
Site open 6pm to 9pm, Midsummer Common
First rockets 7pm
Music and walkabout acts 6pm to 8.30pm
Cost Free
Display by Pains Fireworks, founded 1862

Two things on that list are worth knowing before you plan around them.

There is no bonfire. The council stated it plainly last year: “There will be no bonfire.” It is a fireworks display, not a bonfire night in the traditional sense, so if you are looking for a fire to stand around you will not find one on Midsummer Common.

It is free, and the council keeps saying it may not stay that way. Last year’s release asked for donations and ran a £1 raffle, and said “the future of the event depends on it”. The 2025 sponsors were Illumina, AstraZeneca, RBC Brewin Dolphin, Redgate, Qualcomm, Cambridge BID, Jesus College, Trinity College and Peasgood & Skeates, with Cambridge Radio as media partner. The council is currently asking for 2026 sponsors, which is one reason the event page is still empty: the funding comes together before the programme does.

Getting there, and where not to drive

Midsummer Common has no car park, and the roads around it are residential and narrow. The council’s advice for 2025 was to allow plenty of time, arrive early and walk, cycle or use public transport wherever possible, and it laid on additional Park and Ride services for the evening. Assume the same applies this year and check the council’s announcement when it lands, because the extra services are confirmed each year rather than standing.

If you are driving in anyway, the city centre car parks and the Park and Ride sites are covered on our parking in Cambridge page, including which car parks are free in the evening. Anything that might be dug up on your route is on our Cambridge roadworks and travel page.

No road closure order for Fireworks Night 2026 has been published. Closures around Midsummer Common are handled on the night rather than through an advertised traffic order, so there is nothing to check in advance.

What is still to be confirmed

  • The date: listed as 5 November, but last year’s event moved to the Saturday.
  • Start and finish times, and the time of the first firework.
  • The display company and the entertainment programme.
  • Whether extra Park and Ride services run, and until when.
  • The raffle and donation arrangements.

Expected in early October, on the council’s news page and its City Events listing. This page will be updated then.

Sources