Festival of Remembrance door times: what time doors open at Royal Albert Hall and start times

The Festival of Remembrance is one of the biggest Poppy Day events and it will return to Royal Albert Hall this year.

The Royal British Legion will once again welcome members of the public and VIP guests to one of London's most iconic venues. It forms part of the Remembrance Weekend ceremonies, which also includes the service at The Cenotaph in Whitehall.

A commemorative event dedicated to all those that have served and sacrificed from Britain and the Commonwealth, the Festival of Remembrance actually falls on Remembrance Day itself in 2023. It culminates with the release of poppy petals from the roof.

Two performances will take place on the day and matinee is open to any member of the public. For the evening session, it is open only to members of the Legion and their families and is also attended by senior members of the Royal Family.

But if you are heading to Royal Albert Hall, you might be wondering about the timings for the event. Here's all you need to know:

When is Festival of Remembrance?

The commemorative event will take place on Saturday, 11 November in 2023. It traditionally takes place on the Saturday before Remembrance Sunday - which falls on 12 November this year.

Due to quirks of the calendar, Festival of Remembrance actually falls on Remembrance Day itself. The last time it fell on a Saturday was six years ago in 2017.

What time do doors open for Festival of Remembrance?

There are two performances at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 11 November, meaning attendees have to be extra aware of the timings for the events. For those attending the matinee performance, the doors will open at 12.30pm, the venue has confirmed.

The doors will open at 5pm for the evening performance, the Royal Albert Hall have announced. It gives attendees plenty of time before the event starts.

Festival of Remembrance start and end times

The Royal Albert Hall has confirmed that both performances will last approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. All times are subject to change as it is a live event.

Matinee

As mentioned above, the doors open at 12.30pm and the show itself will start at 2pm. The performance will last 1 hour 45 minutes and will end around 3.45pm.

Evening

The doors will open 5pm, just over an hour after the end of the matinee performance. The performance is due to start at 7pm and run until 8.45pm.

Can you still get tickets for Festival of Remembrance?

For the latest on tickets for the Festival of Remembrance visit The Royal British Legion's ticketing page on SeeTickets. Members of the public are able to attend the matinee performance.

How to watch event at home?

The Festival of Remembrance will be broadcast on BBC1 on Saturday, 11 November. It is not shown live but the coverage will begin at 9pm - after the final performance has ended.

The event will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer as it airs on terestrial TV. For those who can't watch it on Saturday night, it will also be on catch-up afterwards.

The programme will run from 9pm until 10.40pm.