Norwich fireworks 2026: Showground Sat 7 Nov, adults £10

Norwich has no city-centre fireworks display, and has not had one since 2019. The big organised display this year is the Norwich Firework Festival at the Norfolk Showground on Saturday 7 November, 3pm to 11pm. Bonfire night itself falls on Thursday 5 November.

Updated 17 October: the £5 child first-release tickets have now sold out on Skiddle, so the cheapest tickets are £10 for adults and £6 for children. Autumn Lights, which ran at the Showground in 2025, still says “Date TBC”.

Norwich Firework Festival: Saturday 7 November

The Norfolk Showground’s own events listing puts the Norwich Firework Festival on Saturday 7 November 2026 and links to Skiddle for tickets. The listing on Skiddle, which Skiddle says was added by the organiser and names Marlin UK Group Limited as the organiser, gives the rest:

• Times: 3pm to 11pm, last entry 8pm.
• What happens: live music on a main stage, a funfair, food and a bar, a children’s low-noise firework display, then a grand finale display. The funfair, food and music carry on after the finale while cars leave in a managed departure.
• Where: Norfolk Showground, Dereham Road, NR5 0TT.

Ticket prices on Skiddle on 17 October, before any booking fee:

A free carer ticket needs a PIP letter or a GP or consultant’s letter dated in the last two years, or a Nimbus Access card with the +1 symbol, sent to Skiddle by email. Neither listing says anything about parking, dogs or sparklers yet.

The city council’s own events planner still listed no fireworks display of any kind on 10 October; its autumn entries are ghost walks, the Where the River Meets Us festival on the Wensum and the Christkindl Market.

What happened to the Big Boom

The Big Boom was the free council display fired at Norwich Castle. It last ran in November 2019. The 2020 and 2021 events were lost to the pandemic, and it was then cut as a budget saving worth around £33,000 while the council was finding £6.2m of reductions.

Asked in July 2023 whether it would return, council leader Mike Stonard told Greatest Hits Radio that there was “a shortage of funds and the event budgets had to be cut back”, and that “sadly, for the time being, I don’t think they will be back”. Nothing published since has reversed that.

Autumn Lights: still no 2026 date

The largest organised display near the city is Autumn Lights at the Norfolk Showground on Dereham Road, NR5 0TT, which is inside our patch even though the event is billed as a Norfolk one rather than a Norwich one.

As of 17 October the organiser’s own Norfolk page still says “Date TBC” for 2026, and the front of the site says “New for 2026: COMING SOON”. There is a 2026 email alert list but no date and no tickets. The 2025 event was Saturday 1 November.

What the organiser has left up is the 2025 running order, labelled as last year’s schedule, which is a fair guide to the shape of the night but not a promise about this one:

• 3pm: gates, street food, bars and funfair open
• 5.40pm: fire show
• 6pm: Spark! drummers
• 7.40pm: children’s fireworks and effects show
• 9.15pm: grand finale fireworks

The site’s own FAQ gives the two pyromusical displays as roughly 7.40pm and 9.15pm, with gates from 3pm and open until 8.30pm. A separate timeline block on the same page says gates at 4pm, so treat the gate time as unconfirmed until 2026 details go up.

Two things the organiser does state clearly: parking is free and included with a ticket, and sparklers are prohibited. Ear defenders can be bought on the gate or at the bar, which is worth knowing if you are taking small children to a display that runs two full firework shows.

Be careful with the listings sites

Search for Norwich fireworks and you will land on aggregator pages headed “Fireworks Displays in Norwich for 2026”. They are not 2026 listings. Every entry on ukfireworksdisplays.co.uk’s Norwich page on 6 September carried a 2025 date or older, including an entry for the Norwich Castle display that is still advertising Friday 3 November 2017. One listing gives the Showground postcode as NR5 0TP; the correct one, on both the organiser’s site and the Norfolk Showground’s own contact page, is NR5 0TT.

The community displays those pages list around the city, at Old Catton, Sprowston, Spixworth, Taverham and Thorpe St Andrew, are all outside the Norwich city boundary, and none of them had published a 2026 date when we checked. Scout groups and parish councils tend to announce in early October and put tickets on sale late in the month, so the useful time to look is the first fortnight of October, not now.

If you are staying in the city

There is no council display to plan around, so there are no road closures to plan around either. Our Norwich roadworks and travel page carries anything that is genuinely shut that week, and parking in Norwich has the city centre options if you are heading out to a display at the Showground and want to leave the car in town first.

We will update this page if Autumn Lights publishes a 2026 date, and if any organiser announces a display inside NR1 to NR5.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a fireworks display in Norwich in 2026?

Not in the city centre. Norwich City Council’s free Big Boom display at the castle last ran in November 2019 and has not returned. The big organised display is the Norwich Firework Festival at the Norfolk Showground on Saturday 7 November, 3pm to 11pm, with tickets from £10 for adults and £6 for children on Skiddle.

Why did the Norwich fireworks stop?

The 2020 and 2021 displays were lost to the pandemic, and the event was then cut as a saving of around £33,000 while the council was finding £6.2m of budget reductions. In July 2023 the council leader, Mike Stonard, said he did not think it would be back for the time being.

Where is the nearest big fireworks display to Norwich?

The Norfolk Showground, Dereham Road, NR5 0TT, which hosts the Norwich Firework Festival on Saturday 7 November 2026. Autumn Lights, which ran there on Saturday 1 November 2025, still lists its 2026 date as to be confirmed.

How much are Norwich Firework Festival tickets?

On 17 October adult second-release tickets were £10 and child second-release tickets £6 on Skiddle, before booking fees. Both first releases (£8 adult, £5 child) had sold out, and prices rise to £12.50 for adults and £8 for children in the final release. Infants are free but need a ticket.

When is bonfire night 2026?

Thursday 5 November. Most organised displays in Norfolk are held on the nearest Saturday rather than on the night itself.

Is parking free at Autumn Lights?

For the 2025 event the organiser said yes, parking at the Norfolk Showground was free and included with a ticket. The Norwich Firework Festival listing does not mention parking. Sparklers are banned, and ear defenders can be bought on the gate or at the bar.

Sources

Norwich City Council events, Norfolk Showground: Norwich Firework Festival, Skiddle: Norwich Firework Festival, Autumn Lights Norfolk, Norfolk Showground contact page, UK Fireworks Displays, Norwich, and Greatest Hits Radio Norfolk, “Norwich’s ‘Big Boom’ fireworks display unlikely to return”, 10 July 2023. Checked 6 September 2026; Showground, Skiddle and Autumn Lights re-checked 17 October 2026.