Tips for enjoying the event

Walk or come by train?

If you live locally, and are able to walk to the fireworks, please do so. You'll avoid the risk of spending time in a traffic queue and have more fun. You might consider coming by train; the venue is approximately 5 mins walk from the station and the path is now lit by permanent street lighting.

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Buy tickets in advance if possible

It speeds up your entry to the event and you get a discount! Purchase them via your local school and they benefit.
See the list of shops which are selling tickets in the local area.
Tickets are also now available to purchase online from here

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Allow plenty of time

The display starts at 6:30pm with gates open from 4:00pm. We recommend arriving as early as possible to allow plenty of time to park and make your way in to the event. Why not take time to explore the fantastic Ascot Racecourse site. For those that haven't been since the change of buildings, it's worth a good look around.
This year the fireworks entrance opens before the end of racing, so why not experience a bit of what Ascot is famous for!
Please allow at least half an hour to park your car, walk to the gates and find a comfortable viewing location.

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Clothing and footwear

Despite being sheltered from the weather, please wear warm clothing, especially young children. Coats, gloves, scarves etc are recommended, especially for the walk between home or car parks and the Grandstand.
Depending on the weather, on the day and preceding days, there may be mud in the car park areas, so wear boots.
The majority of the grandstand area however is free of such muddy problems.

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Young Children

Arrive soon after the gates open, to allow plenty of time to park, see the fairground, and buy refreshments. Sometimes there is the bonus of seeing other displays in the distance before our display starts. Do not risk missing the start of the fireworks by arriving too late.

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Torch

All areas within the venue will be lit. However if possible please bring a torch for use in the car parks or if walking down unlit roads to/from the event.
Note the path down to the railway station is now lit by permanent street lighting.

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Parking

The event has free parking, using the race course car parks. Please check local signage on the night for details.
Please remember where you parked your car. Whilst the marshalls do their best to keep vehicles and pedestrians separated, please take care both as a driver and when walking around other vehicles.

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Disabled and Elderly

Please see our special needs section.

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Will the heath be open?

The fireworks are setup and fired from the heath in the centre of the racesourse. Therefore the heath will be closed most of day on Saturday for safety. The gates that normally allow access from various locations onto the heath will all be locked from around mid-saturday morning until after the event is finished and the site has been made safe.

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Bonfire & wood or similar for a bonfire

We have not held a bonfire for many years. Originally this was due to lack of space in our old venue as the crowd size increased. When we moved to the racecourse site, whilst there is loads of space, there isn't any suitable location to have a bonfire which would be safe, allow good access and not cause damage to the venue. Therefore, sorry there is no bonfire and we therefore do not accept offers for supplies for such.

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How long does the display last?

The display lasts approximately 20 minutes. We do our best to ensure the display starts on-time or very close to the advertised time however occassionaly we do need to delay the start. If we do need to do this, we will make an annoucement to advise the expected delay and will do everything possible to minimise this.

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We plan to buy tickets on the night, is there a danger that you will run out of tickets?

The venue has a huge capacity, which is many times more than we typically see, so whilst in theory the event could sell-out, it is extremely unlikely - although we can hope!

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Are the funfair rides included in the ticket price?

Sorry, no the ticket price does not include funfair rides. During the event we ask that you pay £1 per person per ride with all amounts raised going to our charity fund. This money is collected by our volunteers at the head of the queue and not the ride operators, who concentrate on your safety.

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Can I have a stall or sell at the event?

Please contact Ascot Racecourse to make your request, as Ascot Roundtable can not help.