Christmas 2026 · London
Christmas carol services in London, 2026
Nowhere sings Christmas like London. Choirs that have sung for kings fill the Abbey and St Paul’s, a thousand candles light the City churches, and the Royal Albert Hall rings with carols for everyone to join in. Here are the carol services and Christmas concerts we could confirm on the churches’ and venues’ own pages on 12 November 2026, and how to get a seat.
Updated October 2026
Westminster Abbey
The Abbey opens Advent with An Advent Liturgy on Sunday 29 November at 4pm (booking required), repeated in St Margaret’s Church on Sunday 13 December at 6pm with no booking. Its Service of Lessons and Carols, sung by the Abbey choir, is on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December at 6pm. The First Eucharist of Christmas, the Midnight Mass, begins at 11pm on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Day there is Holy Communion at 8am and Evensong at 3pm, with no booking, and the Sung Eucharist at 10.30am, which needs a ticket. All the services are free. Tickets for those that need booking are released on Monday 16 and Wednesday 18 November, at 9.30am and 2.30pm, through the Abbey’s website.
Before Christmas, the Abbey hosts Handel’s Messiah on Friday 27 November at 7pm (£17.28–£65.34) and A Seasonal Celebration of Benjamin Britten in St Margaret’s on Saturday 5 December at 6.30pm. Our advice: be online the moment tickets are released; the carol services go fast.
Westminster Abbey: Advent and Christmas Westminster Abbey: Messiah
St Paul’s Cathedral
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Rafa Esteve · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsWren’s cathedral holds its Advent Carol Service on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November at 5pm, free and unticketed. Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols follows on Saturday 12 December at 5pm (no ticket), and the Blessing of the Crib on Sunday 20 December at 3pm. Family Carols (Saturday 19 December, 11am) and the Christmas Carol Service (23 December, with BSL, and 24 December, 4pm) are free, by ballot closing 26 November.
The Midnight Eucharist begins at 11pm on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day the Choral Eucharist is at 11am and Festal Evensong at 3pm; none is ticketed, so come early, as the doors open an hour before. Two paid concerts fill the dome before Christmas: Handel’s Messiah on Wednesday 2 December at 6.30pm and A Celebration of Christmas on Thursday 10 December at 6.30pm.
Our advice: enter the ballot now; if you miss out, the Advent Carol Service needs no ticket, and it is one of the most moving services of the year.
St Paul’s Cathedral: Advent and Christmas St Paul’s: Christmas Carol Service ballot
Southwark Cathedral
The cathedral by London Bridge and Borough Market keeps a full December. The Advent Procession, From Darkness to Light, is on Sunday 29 November at 6pm, and the Southwark Cathedral Carol Service on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 December at 6pm; all three need a free ticket, available now. Community Carols and Sing In is at 12.45pm on Thursday 17 December (free ticket).
The Cathedral Choir sings Handel’s Messiah on Sunday 13 December at 6pm (from £10) and the Southwark Cathedral Christmas Concert on Friday 18 December at 7.30pm (from £25). On Christmas Eve there is a Crib Service at 4pm and the First Mass at Christmas at 10pm; on Christmas Day, a Eucharist with Carols at 9am and the Choral Eucharist at 11am, all unticketed.
Our advice: visiting choirs sing here almost daily in December, many free and unticketed; check the cathedral’s list and combine one with Borough Market.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsSouthwark Cathedral: Advent and Christmas
Carols at the Royal Albert Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields
The RPO’s Carols at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Jess Gillam, runs to 15 performances: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December at 3pm and 7.30pm, Monday 21 to Wednesday 23 December at 11am, 3pm and 7.30pm, and Christmas Eve at 11am and 3pm; tickets from £22. Christmas with the Royal Choral Society is on Monday 7 December at 2.30pm and 7.30pm (from £45).
Sir John Rutter conducts his own Christmas Celebration at the Hall on Friday 4 December at 3pm and 7.30pm, with The Bach Choir and the RPO (from £24). On Trafalgar Square, St Martin’s Voices and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields give A Festival of Carols by Candlelight at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Friday 18 December at 7.30pm; the church lists its own carol services and candlelit concerts on its website.
Our advice: at the Royal Albert Hall the audience sings along with the orchestra; the 11am performances are the easiest to book.
RPO: Carols at the Royal Albert Hall RPO: Christmas with the Royal Choral Society RPO: Sir John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration St Martin’s Voices: A Festival of Carols by Candlelight
How to get a seat
London’s great carol services are free, but the most famous are booked or balloted weeks ahead: Westminster Abbey releases its tickets on 16 and 18 November, and St Paul’s ballot closes on 26 November. Where a service is unticketed, arrive at least an hour early. Expect bag searches at the Abbey, and leave large bags at your hotel.
Our advice: Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday, so the carol services cluster from Saturday 19 to Thursday 24 December. Check each church’s page in the week before you go, as times can change, and see our Christmas in London guide for the lights and markets.
Questions and answers
How do I get tickets for the Westminster Abbey carol service 2026?
The Service of Lessons and Carols is on 23 and 24 December at 6pm. It is free, but booking is required: tickets are released through the Abbey’s website on Monday 16 and Wednesday 18 November at 9.30am and 2.30pm.
Do I need a ticket for St Paul’s Cathedral at Christmas?
For the Christmas Carol Service (23 and 24 December at 4pm) and Family Carols (19 December), yes: free tickets by ballot, closing on 26 November. The Advent Carol Service (28 and 29 November), Ceremony of Carols, Midnight Eucharist and Christmas Day services are unticketed.
When are the carols at the Royal Albert Hall in 2026?
The RPO’s Carols at the Royal Albert Hall runs from Saturday 19 to Thursday 24 December, with 15 performances at 11am, 3pm and 7.30pm, from £22. Christmas with the Royal Choral Society is on 7 December.
Times and dates from each church’s or venue’s own page (westminster-abbey.org, stpauls.co.uk, cathedral.southwark.anglican.org, rpo.co.uk, stmartinsvoices.com), checked 12 November 2026. Check before you go.