Alexandra Palace Fireworks Festival

Taking Bonfire night up a notch, the Ally Pally fireworks display has been running for over 150 years, and has a lot more than rockets and Catherine wheels on offer.

What to expect at the Alexandra Palace Fireworks Festival

With a lazer show, fireworks, a German bier festival and circus, you’ll have a night you’ll be hard-pressed to forget. The event is so popular it’s running on two nights, with slightly earlier start times on the Saturday. Park entry is open from 5 pm Friday and 4 pm Saturday. The bonfire will be lit at around 7 pm/6 pm (F/S) and is a great place to keep warm while you await the fireworks. The lazer show begins at 8:30 pm/7:30 pm (F/S), with fireworks commencing half an hour later. The Family Area Festival Tent and Streatlife Village are back this year and bigger than ever. Both have good food to enjoy as well as comedy, acitivities and music on show.

Luna Cinema

You can also catch a film courtesy of Luna Cinema. The venue is showing the first Harry Potter movie, as well as Silence of the Lambs on Friday night. On Saturday, you can see either Toy Story 4 or (fittingly enough) V For Vendetta. Tickets are £10.00 for adults and £6.00 for kids. Unsurprisingly there are no kids tickets to Silence of the Lambs or V for Vendetta. It’s worth noting that you’ll need fireworks festival tickets to get into the movies.

London’s biggest bier festival

The Bier Festival begins at 6pm/4pm (F/S), with over 6000 revellers being served by waitresses in (no doubt inaccurate) Bavarian costumes. A host of musical entertainers will take to the stage, including The Killers and Elton John Tribute acts. Yes, the Killers have a tribute band.

Ice Skating on Bonfire Night

Ice skating is available from around 4:30 pm, with an ice disco in the evening. Everything should be wrapped up by 11 pm—just enough to rush from a last train home. Additional tickets can be added at the online checkout.

Alexandra Palace Fireworks Festival tickets

Tickets are available online and although early bird tickets are available for £9.50 they do sell out pretty early. A regular adult ticket costs £12.00, children between 11 and 15 are £9.50 and under 10s are £1.00. If you’re coming with family, you can opt for the two-adults-two-children option or the one-adult-three-children option. Both cost £34.00. Tickets for the accessible viewing area include an assistant ticket, accessible parking and a special viewing spot. These tickets also cost £12.00.

(Felix Wilson)