Events

• Future events
• Attending events
• Organising events
• Contact us

Newcastle is a vibrant city that hosts everything from major international events to music concerts, top sporting action and small community festivals.

We are extremely proud to have hosted:

• London 2012 Olympic Games' football matches
• the Rugby World Cup in 2015
• Magic Weekend in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
• the Heineken Cup Champions Final in 2019
• Rugby League World Cup 2022

We are also delighted that Newcastle/Gateshead was  chosen to host and deliver the Great Exhibition of the North in 2018 and to have been a part of the World Transplant Games across Tyne and Wear in 2019.

Future events

If you are planning to hold your own event, please see our guide to organising an event.

Attending events

Think Covid

Covid-19 is still transmitting in our communities. You can see the current case rates on our Coronavirus information page.

Keep yourself and others safe, as well as our local businesses.

Prior to an event, you are encouraged to test yourself for Covid - Please follow the NHS Covid testing guidance.

Please do not attend events if you have a positive result or if you have symptoms.

Consider the use of face masks in crowded areas.

 

Fireworks

It is illegal, unless you are the organiser or have their consent, to have pyrotechnics (fireworks) where a musical event is being held.   

Organising events

Please see our step-by-step guide to organising an event. 

To hold a safe and well managed event organisers should, where needed, always seek advice from experienced health and safety and event management professionals.

Use of council land

As a landowner we do not allow a number of activities to take place on our land.

This includes:

• the supply of tobacco products
• the release of sky lanterns or helium balloons

We would particularly encourage anyone considering a lantern or balloon release to consider alternative options.

Advice and guidance can be found on our sky lanterns and helium balloons page.

Licences

You may need a specific licence for your event.

For more information on the licences that may be needed, please:

• call 0191 277 7130
• email us 

Street parties

If you want to hold a small party or fete, for a group of neighbours, which needs a road to be closed, you can apply for street party permission online.

General advice on organising a street party is available on the national Street Party website.

If you are organising a street party please read the Food Standards Agency's advice on how to serve up safe food at street parties. Advice on food safety is also available on our food safety pages.

Play Streets

The Play Streets scheme is aimed at letting children play out where they live in a safe, traffic-free place.

It means that, for a short period of time, your street can be closed to through traffic, providing it’s not a main road, bus route or emergency vehicle route.

You can hold a Play Streets event between April and the end of October but you have to apply in advance.

Find our more on our Play Streets page.

Holding an event in Newcastle city centre

NE1 provides high profile, on street spaces for events and marketing campaigns in Newcastle city centre.

They have spaces to allow events of all shapes and sizes, including larger scale promotions involving branded vehicles, gazebos and structures.    

Crowded places guidance

The latest crowded places guidance from the National Counter Terrorism Security Office is available on its website.

Safer Events Policy

A copy of the Northumbria Local Resilience Forum's safer events policy is available on request.

Health and Safety Executive advice

More advice about running safe events can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.

Contact us

To contact our events team please:

• write to: Events team, Directorate of Operations and Regulatory Services, Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8QH
• call: 0191 2116582
• email us