Celebrating a standout year of events across parks, countryside and town centre

We're celebrating a vibrant and successful year of events held throughout 2025, with thousands of residents and visitors enjoying a diverse programme across the borough's parks, countryside and town centre venues. 

2025 saw Guildford's much loved outdoor spaces host a rich mix of festivals, markets, performances and community activities. Together, these events attracted around 140,000 attendees at parks-based events and a further 3,000 visitors to the popular Castle Grounds bandstand concerts. From these, significant income was generated through hire fees, reflecting their growing reputation among event organisers and audiences alike. 

In the latter part of the year, we introduced a digital tool, EventApp, to help us deliver a more streamlined, transparent and coordinated approach to managing events and activities across the borough. 

By moving to an online booking system used successfully by councils across the country, we significantly reduced administrative pressures on teams while improving communication with event organisers, ward councillors and key safety partners, ensuring events can be planned and delivered more efficiently, more safely and with a greater focus on community and economic benefit. 

This practical step supports our long-term economic strategy and helps unlock Guildford's full potential as a vibrant and welcoming place to live, work and visit. 

Cllr Julia McShane, Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Events, said: 

"We're delighted by the incredible success of our event bookings service over the past year. The wide variety of activities showcased the diversity and vibrancy of our parks and countryside open spaces and venues. From community and charity initiatives to commercial and cultural highlights, these events have brought our community together. 

"To complement these, visitors to the town have also been treated to farmers and specialist markets, as well as our free family focussed events such as Guildford Green Day and the Festive Family Fun Day, ensuring we have something for everyone to enjoy. 

"This event success is a testament to the seamless, often behind-the-scenes efforts of our team - people who are mostly invisible, working to ensure that Guildford's open spaces remain safe, accessible, inclusive, and enjoyable for all."

Cllr McShane added: 

"These events align with our commitment to making Guildford a more inclusive and prosperous borough. I'm delighted we've been able to facilitate them and look forward to another exciting programme of events in 2026." 

Published: 11 February 2026