St George's Day date moved for 2026 as plans for future date changes confirmed

St George’s Day is just hours away, but many people may not be aware that the date has moved for 2026 compared to 2025.

Saint George’s Day is the annual celebration of the patron saint of England. The annual day sees events held across England every year as English men and women honour the patron saint of England on the anniversary of his death in 303 AD. Though St George wasn’t English, it is said the Church adopted him after his heroics leading crusaders in battle.

Back in the 15th century, St George’s Day was a national celebration of equal importance with Christmas.

Today, the day is the English equivalent of St Patrick's Day over in Ireland, St David's Day in Wales, or St Andrew's Day in Scotland, and each year services are held in churches for St George's Day, and events are usually held in Trafalgar Square (which this year were held on April 19th).

This year, Saint George's Day will be held on April 23, 2026. However, the date is not always set in stone and can be moved.

In 2025, the date was changed due to Easter. According to church rules, any saint's day which falls in Holy or Easter week must be moved to the week after the Easter fortnight, usually the first Monday.

Guidance issued by the Church of England states: “When St George's Day or St Mark's Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter. If both fall in this period, St George's Day is transferred to the Monday and St Mark's Day to the Tuesday.”

So in 2025, St George's Day was transferred from Wednesday, April 23, to Monday, April 28.

This year, there was no such issue and the date was confirmed for Thursday, April 23.

Future years in which the date will be subject to change in England are 2028 (24 April), 2030 (29 April), 2033 (25 April), 2038 (3 May), 2041 (29 April), 2044 (25 April), 2049 (26 April), 2052 (29 April), 2055 (26 April), 2057 (30 April), 2060 (26 April), 2068 (30 April) and 2071 (27 April).

Unfortunately, though, the day is not a Bank Holiday, and the Government has resisted fresh calls to make it one, citing the £2bn cost to the economy of giving everyone in England the day off.

Singer and activist Billy Bragg has called on people to celebrate shared values and identity this St George’s Day and to “resist hateful division”.

Bragg, who last month took part in a demonstration in London against the far right, said: “St George’s Day should be a day for celebrating the positive things we have in common – a day for recognising the sense of community that comes from the identity and values that we share in this place called England.

“Through listening to each other, we can find that common ground from which to resist hateful division.”

Sir Sajid said: “St George’s Day is a great day to celebrate what we all have in common.

“When people talk about what they value, what they trust, and what they share, it becomes easier to build understanding. I’m glad my suggestions of the local bobby and war memorials made the final cut.”