PAGEANTRY, princes and peasants will be on full display in Worcestershire this weekend as the medieval multitudes descend from across Europe for the award-winning Battle of Evesham Festival 2026.
Now in its eighth year, organisers are expecting up to 60,000 people to visit Evesham on August 1 and 2 to witness an action-packed programme of events that commemorate the day that Simon de Montfort was killed in a bloody fight in 1265.
Highlights include dramatic battle reenactments with knights on horseback, a grand parade through the town centre and a living history camp with live demonstrations of cookery and weaponry.
The main festival ground is on Crown Meadow and also features an artisan craft fayre with 150 traders and community stands.
Following last year’s success the 350-seater presentation pavilion will see a range of talks from medieval academics and authors.
The headliner for 2026 is TV historian and author, Professor Alice Roberts who on Saturday, August 1 at 4pm will be promoting her new book Domination – the fall of the Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity. Tickets cost £25 and are selling fast.
Professor Alice Roberts. s
On Saturday evening the award-winning Medieval Babes will be enchanting music lovers with their haunting classical vocals. The performance starts at 7pm with tickets at £20.
Preceding that at 7pm on Friday night, UK Queen will be combining top-quality musicianship with a powerful live show that captures the spirit and energy of Freddie Mercury. Tickets are £20.
The grand parade through the streets of Evesham starts on Saturday at 10am from Vine Street and back by popular demand, a chivalric competition called a tourney featuring armed combat is on Sunday from 10am to 11.30am.
The spectacular reenactment of the Battle of Evesham that the festival is famous for will take place at 2pm on Saturday and 3pm on the Sunday.
Festival director Mick said: “Seeing the grand parade on Saturday morning makes every single hour of hard work over the past year completely worth it.
“Witnessing all the fully armed re-enactors, horses and dignitaries exit St Lawrence’s churchyard onto Vine Street never fails to excite me.
“The thousands of public lining the streets to watch, certainly brings a huge sense of achievement for all of the hard work the Battle of Evesham committee has put into the festival since the last one.”
A park and ride service will operate from Evesham United Football Club (WR11 2LZ) at £10 per vehicle.
It will be open on both days from 9am to 10pm with the last bus from the festival site 7pm.
See battleofevesham.co.uk for full schedule and tickets.
