There is no queue any more for King's College's Christmas Eve carol service. Seats go by online ballot; last year the UK ballot ran 1 to 15 November.

If you are planning to queue outside King’s on Christmas Eve for A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, don’t. King’s College says plainly on its service page: “There is no longer a public queue for tickets.” The public seats, about half the chapel, now go to people who win an online ballot, and the 2026 ballot has not opened yet.

The quick answer

  • Tickets: by online ballot only. No queue on the day.
  • When to apply: King’s says full 2026 details will go up in early autumn. Last year the overseas ballot ran 1 to 15 October and the UK ballot 1 to 15 November.
  • Can’t get in? It is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 at 3pm on 24 December, and repeated on Radio 3 at 1pm on Christmas Day.

How the ballot works

King’s gives about half the tickets to the public because the service “was first conceived as a gift to the City of Cambridge”, in the college’s words. The 2026 page currently says it “will be updated in early Autumn 2026 with full details and links to apply for tickets in the ballot”.

Last year’s rules, from the college’s page as archived in November 2025, are the best guide to what to expect:

2025 ballot
Overseas ballot Opened Wednesday 1 October, 9am; closed Wednesday 15 October, 5pm
Main (UK) ballot Opened Saturday 1 November, 9am; closed Saturday 15 November, 5pm
Tickets per application One or two
Application must include Both attendees’ names, an email address and a phone number
Without internet Write to the Dean by post, with an email address or a stamped addressed envelope

A few rules catch people out:

  • UK residents must use the main ballot. King’s says a UK resident who applies through the overseas form will have the application discounted. The overseas ballot runs earlier to give people time to arrange long-distance travel.
  • The forms only accept entries while the ballot is open. Outside those windows there is nothing to fill in.
  • A postal entry goes into the same draw. It is not a separate allocation, and the college asks people to use the online form unless they cannot.
  • Not for small children. King’s says the service “is not suitable for very young children and babies or those who may find it difficult to remain quiet for the duration of the service”.

The service itself

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been held in King’s College Chapel on Christmas Eve since 1918 and was first broadcast in 1928. It opens every year with “Once in Royal David’s City”, and every year includes a newly commissioned carol, according to the college.

It is not the same as Carols from King’s, a separate service pre-recorded for BBC television and also shown on Christmas Eve.

Listening instead

King’s says the service goes out live on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service at 3pm on 24 December, is repeated on Radio 3 at 1pm on Christmas Day, and is carried by more than 400 radio stations in the United States through American Public Media.

Another way in: the Advent Procession

King’s also holds an Advent Procession at the start of Advent, which in 2025 was on Sunday 30 November. The college describes it as “primarily a College occasion”, but last year it released a number of tickets to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, up to two per person, with applications closing at 9am on Monday 17 November. Advent Sunday 2026 is 29 November; King’s has not yet published this year’s arrangements.

What is still to be confirmed

  • The 2026 ballot dates and the application links. If the pattern holds, the overseas ballot opens on 1 October and the UK ballot on 1 November, but King’s has not said so yet.
  • The Advent Procession date and ticket release.

We will update this page when King’s publishes the ballot. In the meantime, see our other Christmas pages: Cambridge Botanic Lights, the Christmas market and ice rink and Christmas trains and travel, which matters on Christmas Eve because trains finish early. For driving in, see parking in Cambridge and roadworks and travel.

Sources