Bonfire Night 2026: Thursday 5 November, UK Rules and Family Safety
Short answer
Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) 2026 is on Thursday 5 November. Many towns hold their public displays on the weekend before or after, so check your local council. The safest choice is an organised display.
As the clocks go back and evenings darken, "Bonfire Night 2026" searches climb across the UK. The night remembers the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Today it's mostly about community bonfires, toffee apples and fireworks displays. This year 5 November falls on a Thursday, so many councils and clubs will hold events on Saturday 31 October, or on the weekend of 7β8 November.
UK fireworks rules (GOV.UK)
- Age: you cannot buy "adult" fireworks (categories 2 and 3) if you are under 18.
- Night-time limit: fireworks must not be set off between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. On Bonfire Night the cut-off is midnight.
- Local rules: GOV.UK advises checking with your council for any local rules.
- Public places: setting off or throwing fireworks (including sparklers) in the street or other public places is against the law.
Rules can differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check the official guidance where you live.
Family safety tips
- Go to an organised display. It's safer, cheaper and usually more spectacular.
- Sparklers: give gloves to anyone holding one. Don't give sparklers to children under five, and drop used ones into a bucket of water.
- Stand back behind barriers, and never go back to a firework that has been lit.
- Pets: keep them indoors with curtains closed and some calm background noise.
- Wrap up warm. Early-November evenings are cold and damp.
Plan your evening
Sunset in London on 5 November is around 4:30 p.m., so displays can start early. Check your own town with the sunrise and sunset calculator, and set a reminder with the countdown timer.
Look up after the fireworks: the Southern Taurids peak on the night of 4β5 November, so a slow, bright "shooting star" could join the show. Spain and much of Europe also changed clocks in late October. See our Spanish guide to the October clock change.
Updated 19 October 2026. Rules summarised from GOV.UK; sparkler and display advice from RoSPA.
