Norwich Celebrates Colourful Lord Mayor’s Weekend 2026

Norwich city centre was full of colour, music and community spirit as Lord Mayor’s Weekend returned for three days of summer celebrations.

The event ran from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 July, with this year’s theme, “Wild About Norwich”, helping to bring a nature-inspired feel to one of the city’s biggest annual weekends.

One of the main highlights was the Lord Mayor’s Procession on Saturday afternoon. The parade set off from Norwich Cathedral at 3pm before making its way through the city centre and finishing at Chapelfield Gardens.

The procession brought together local groups, performers, schools and organisations, with colourful costumes, music, creativity and plenty of people-powered parade entries.

This year’s “Wild About Norwich” theme gave the weekend a strong visual identity, with wildlife-inspired designs, bright outfits and community creations helping to bring the streets to life.

Chapelfield Gardens was another major focus across the weekend, hosting the Lord Mayor’s Garden Party with family entertainment, activities and live music. It gave families a chance to enjoy a festival-style atmosphere in the heart of the city.

There was also live entertainment at Hay Hill, helping to spread the celebrations across Norwich and giving people plenty to see as they moved around the city centre.

Sunday brought the return of the Norwich Lanes Summer Fayre, with the Lanes filled with music, markets, street food, DJs, performances, workshops and independent businesses joining the celebrations.

The day also featured one of the weekend’s quirkiest traditions, the Great Norwich Duck Race at Riverside. Hundreds of bright yellow ducks took to the River Wensum for the charity race, with people gathering to cheer them on.

The Duck Race was run by 1st Norwich Sea Scout Group as part of the Lord Mayor’s celebrations, helping to raise money for scouting in and around Norwich, as well as supporting the Lord Mayor’s charity and Priscilla Bacon Hospice.

Across the three days, Lord Mayor’s Weekend brought together many of the things Norwich does best: local creativity, independent businesses, music, family fun and a strong sense of community.

From the procession and Garden Party to the Lanes Fayre and Duck Race, it was a weekend that gave people plenty of reasons to head into the city and enjoy one of Norwich’s best-loved summer traditions.