The National Service of Remembrance is at the Cenotaph on Sunday 8 November 2026 at 11am. No ticket needed to watch; Whitehall opened at 8am last year.

The National Service of Remembrance is on Sunday 8 November 2026 at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, starting at 11am. Anyone can watch from the pavements of Whitehall and Parliament Street. You do not need a ticket, but you do need to arrive early and clear police security.

The government publishes its detailed timings for the public about a month before the day. Last year’s page went up on 7 October, so the timings below are 2025’s, clearly marked, until the 2026 page appears.

The quick answer

  • Sunday 8 November 2026, 11am, the Cenotaph, Whitehall. The two-minute silence begins at 11am.
  • No tickets or passes are needed to watch. In 2025 Whitehall opened to the public at 8am and space ran out.
  • Veterans who want to march as individuals must register with the Royal British Legion by 11.59pm on Monday 28 September 2026.

The date, and who says so

The Royal British Legion’s Cenotaph Parade 2026 page covers Remembrance Sunday 2026. The Department for Transport’s announcement of free rail travel for bereaved families, published on 12 September, dates Remembrance weekend as 7 to 8 November 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) runs the service with the Armed Forces and veterans’ organisations. Its public guidance for 2025, National Service of Remembrance, Sunday 9 November 2025, was first published on 7 October 2025. Expect the 2026 version in early October.

How the morning ran in 2025

These are the times DCMS published for last year. The shape has been the same for years, but check the 2026 page before you set off.

Time (2025) What happened
8am Whitehall opens to the public. Space limited; allow for security checks
From 10.30am Detachments form up at the Cenotaph
From 10.50am Participants process out to the Cenotaph
11am Two-minute silence, marked by guns fired by the King’s Troop on Horse Guards Parade. Service begins
11.25am Service ends. The Royal British Legion’s March Past begins past the Cenotaph

Where to stand

In 2025 the public viewing areas were the pavements along Whitehall and Parliament Street, and DCMS warned that entry “may be limited if the area becomes full”. Big screens were placed:

  • north of the Cenotaph, on the green in front of the statue of Field Marshal Montgomery
  • in the lay-by outside Dover House, between Horse Guards and Downing Street
  • near the junction with Whitehall Place
  • south of the Cenotaph, on the corner of King Charles Street

There was a space for wheelchair users and others who find it hard to see from the main areas, on the west side of Parliament Street near King Charles Street. It was first come, first served, with one carer or guest admitted per person and an accessible toilet nearby. Temporary public toilets were in Whitehall Place, and St John Ambulance had first aid posts along Whitehall.

Security, bags and cameras

DCMS’s 2025 rules, which are likely to carry over:

  • Do not bring large bags. Bags with lots of openings slow everyone’s entry.
  • No drones over Whitehall or the surrounding streets, at any time.
  • Photography is allowed, but police can remove tripods that block views, and DCMS asks people not to take photographs during the two-minute silence.

Roads and getting there

In 2025 Great George Street was closed to the public all day, and people walking between Victoria Street and St James’s Park were sent via Storey’s Gate. DCMS warned that the stations nearest the service would be busy before and after it. It named no specific station closures, so check TfL on the morning.

The March Past uses a set route. The Legion says the parade forms up on Horse Guards Parade, moves through Horse Guards Arch onto Whitehall, marches down Whitehall past the Cenotaph, turns right into Great George Street and right again into Horse Guards Road, where a member of the Royal Family takes the salute. Expect Whitehall, Parliament Street and the roads around Horse Guards to be shut to traffic for the morning. Our Westminster roadworks and travel page carries the closures when they are published. Our parking page explains Sunday parking rules.

Marching in the Cenotaph Parade

The March Past is a veterans’ parade of up to 10,000 people, capped by the space on Horse Guards Parade. According to the Royal British Legion:

  • Most places go through service and unit associations. The deadline to join as a new association for 2026 has passed. New associations for 2027 must apply by 11.59pm on Friday 5 March 2027.
  • Individual veterans who are not in an association can register for any unused tickets, first come, first served, until 11.59pm on Monday 28 September 2026. This is open to UK and Commonwealth veterans of the Royal Navy, Army, RAF and Merchant Navy. You will need proof of service, such as a Veterans ID card or a certificate of discharge. Registering does not guarantee a place.
  • You cannot turn up and march. Police require everyone in the parade to have registered and passed security accreditation in advance.
  • Serving personnel, including reservists, cannot march. Uniform is not allowed. Smart civilian clothes are expected, with your own medals on the left and a relative’s on the right.

Bereaved families of service personnel who died in service can apply through the Defence Medical Welfare Service for free National Rail travel over Remembrance weekend. The deadline is 16 October 2026, according to the government announcement.

The Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey

The Poppy Factory plants its Field of Remembrance in the Abbey grounds every November and has done since 1928. According to the Poppy Factory, the 2025 Field was open to the public from the afternoon of Thursday 6 November until Sunday 16 November 2025. Anyone could visit and pick up a tribute to plant. The charity had not published 2026 dates when we checked on 25 September. If the pattern holds, it opens on Thursday 5 November.

Armistice Day at Westminster City Hall

Armistice Day, 11 November, falls on a Wednesday in 2026. Last year Westminster City Council said that wreaths would be laid outside Westminster City Hall “just before 11am” on Armistice Day. It also said the Lord Mayor of Westminster would represent the city at Westminster Abbey on Remembrance Sunday. The council has not yet published its 2026 arrangements.

Watching from home

In 2025 the service was on the BBC, ITV and Sky. Those same broadcasters are likely to show it again this year.

Still to be confirmed

  • DCMS’s 2026 public timings and screen positions, expected early October.
  • The 2026 road closures and any station changes.
  • The Field of Remembrance’s 2026 opening and closing dates.

We will update this page as each is published.