Eisteddfod yr Urdd
Women Chainmakers’ Festival
Durham Miners’ Gala
Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival
UK Pride
Burston Strike Rally
Eisteddfod yr Urdd 2026, Wales - Saturday 23 to Friday 29 May
The Eisteddfod yr Urdd is one of Europe’s largest youth touring festivals, attracting around 90,000 visitors each year.
The Urdd Eisteddfod is a touring festival and is held in a different location in Wales each year. In 2026, the festival was held on Ynys Môn (Anglesey).
The Eisteddfod is a competitive festival with over 15,000 children and young people under the age of 25 competing in various competitions such as singing, dancing and performing throughout the week of the festival.
The 1,800 seater Pavilion is the home of the competitions and is very much the hub of the Eisteddfod. Surrounding the Pavilion on the ‘Maes’ (field), you will find hundreds of colourful stalls offering a range of activities for all the family, from biking, climbing and sport sessions to a funfair, live bands and children’s shows with some well-known TV characters.
During Eisteddfod yr Urdd, NASUWT members can take a break and NASUWT activists provide advice to existing members and recruit new ones. It is a great opportunity to connect and network with education agencies and the Welsh Government and to lobby the MSs who attend.
Women Chainmakers’ Festival 2026, Cradley Heath - Saturday 27 June
Each year, the Women Chainmakers’ Festival recognises and celebrates the role of women within the trade union movement and aims to reclaim the often forgotten contribution of women to Britain’s industrial heritage.
The festival includes a banner procession, history tent, activities for children, music and speakers.
NASUWT has a strong presence at the festival, where we have a stand and take part in the banner procession.
Durham Miners’ Gala 2026, Durham - Saturday 11 July
The Durham Miners’ Gala is a large annual gathering and trade union festival held on the second Saturday of July in the city of Durham. Hosted by the Durham Miners’ Association since 1871, the Gala is the world’s greatest celebration of community, working-class culture and international solidarity.
NASUWT takes part in the parade with our national and regional banners accompanied by the NASUWT Riverside Brass Band, marching through the town onto the old racecourse where NASUWT has a stall.
The Union also arranges a programme of events for members over the weekend, featuring high-profile trade union and political speakers.
Highlights
Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival 2026, Dorset - Saturday 18 to Sunday 19 July
The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival is the annual gathering that commemorates the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, five men who dared to organise a trade union - a crime in the eyes of the establishment - to protest about their meagre pay of six shillings a week, the equivalent of £50 in real terms today and the third wage cut in as many years.
Visit the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ website or the Facebook group for more information.
NASUWT always has a strong presence throughout the weekend as a stallholder and proudly sponsors the Children’s Zone.
On the Sunday, NASUWT pays its respects by laying a wreath at the grave of James Hammett and joins the march with our national and regional banners accompanied by the NASUWT Riverside brass band.
Highlights
UK Pride 2026, Newport - Saturday 5 September
The annual event to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community has been running since 2007. Newport has been chosen by organisers of other Prides across the country to be the UK Pride this year.
UK Pride is organised by the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON), which was formed to bring Pride organisers together to share knowledge and experiences, to support each other and to encourage a diverse and vibrant Pride movement around the UK.
NASUWT is committed to supporting local and regional Pride events throughout the UK as part of its work on LGBTI equalities work, supporting UK Pride as a national union event.
For details of other Pride events taking place around the UK, please see our Pride calendar.
For more information on how to take part in UK Pride, please email the Equality and Training Team.
Highlights
Burston Strike School Rally 2026, Norfolk - Sunday 6 September
Every year, trade unionists come together to commemorate what became known as the longest running strike in British history. The strike lasted from 1914 to 1939, in the village of Burston in Norfolk.
Kitty Higdon and her husband Tom, headteacher and teacher, were forced out by the school’s managing body because of their efforts to educate working-class children and improve their environment. After Kitty Higdon had been sacked on the pretext of lighting a fire without permission, Violet Potter led 66 of the school’s 72 pupils out on strike. With the full support of parents, the Higdons established an alternative well-equipped school on the village green.
The strike became a central issue for trade unionists and school reformers throughout the country and thanks to appeal funds, a new school was officially opened on 13 May 1917 by Violet Potter, who said ‘With joy and thankfulness I declare this school open to be forever a School of Freedom.’
Highlights
Calculate your travel carbon footprint
As part of our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, particularly at our conferences and events, we'd like to share a tool allowing you to understand the environmental impact of your journey and identifying low-carbon door-to-door travel plans that help you towards net-zero travel.
Try the You.Smart.Thing travel planner.
