UK awareness days and key dates

Friday 1 August 2025

• Festival of Archaeology

  Religious and cultural19 July to 3 August 2025

  A UK festival of archaeology events held over two weeks in July, which ran from 18 July to 2 August in 2026.

• Love Parks Week

  Awareness25 July to 3 August 2025

  A Keep Britain Tidy campaign celebrating parks and green spaces in England, held over about ten days from late July into early August.

• National Marine Week

  Awareness26 July to 10 August 2025

  The Wildlife Trusts' 16-day celebration of UK seas and coastlines, held 25 July to 9 August in 2026.

• World Breastfeeding Week

  Awareness1 to 7 August 2025

  World Breastfeeding Week, 1 to 7 August, promotes breastfeeding and the support families need from communities, employers and governments.

• World Lung Cancer Day

  Awareness

  A global day on 1 August that raises awareness of lung cancer risks, screening and treatment.

• Yorkshire Day

  Religious and cultural

  A day on 1 August celebrating the historic county of Yorkshire, its people and traditions.

Monday 4 August 2025

• Summer bank holiday (Scotland)

  Public holidays

  A bank holiday in Scotland.

Wednesday 6 August 2025

• International Day of Awareness of the Special Development Needs and Challenges of Landlocked Developing Countries

  Awareness

  On 6 August the UN highlights the development challenges faced by the 32 developing countries that have no coastline.

Saturday 9 August 2025

• International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

  Awareness

  On 9 August the UN raises awareness of the rights and needs of Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Sunday 10 August 2025

• World Lion Day

  Awareness

  Held on 10 August, World Lion Day raises awareness of the decline of wild lions and gathers support for their conservation.

Monday 11 August 2025

• Afternoon Tea Week

  Commercial and retail11 to 17 August 2025

  A week in August celebrating the British tradition of afternoon tea, with offers and events at tearooms, hotels and cafes.

• National Allotments Week

  Awareness11 to 17 August 2025

  An annual week in August that celebrates allotment gardening and encourages sites to open to the public.

• World Steelpan Day

  Awareness

  World Steelpan Day on 11 August celebrates the steelpan, the musical instrument from Trinidad and Tobago, and its cultural importance.

Tuesday 12 August 2025

• International Youth Day

  Awareness

  International Youth Day on 12 August highlights the role of young people in building fair and sustainable societies.

• World Elephant Day

  Awareness

  Marked on 12 August, World Elephant Day draws attention to threats facing Asian and African elephants, such as poaching and habitat loss.

Friday 15 August 2025

• Assumption of Mary

  Religious and cultural

  The Assumption of Mary on 15 August is the Catholic feast celebrating Mary being taken up into heaven, a holy day of obligation.

• VJ Day

  Religious and cultural

  Victory over Japan Day on 15 August marks the end of the Second World War in 1945.

Tuesday 19 August 2025

• World Humanitarian Day

  Awareness

  World Humanitarian Day on 19 August honours aid workers and calls for the protection of people who deliver humanitarian help.

Wednesday 20 August 2025

• World Mosquito Day

  Awareness

  Held on 20 August, World Mosquito Day marks Sir Ronald Ross's 1897 discovery that mosquitoes transmit malaria, and highlights mosquito borne diseases.

Thursday 21 August 2025

• International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism

  Awareness

  On 21 August the UN honours and supports victims and survivors of terrorism and promotes their rights.

Friday 22 August 2025

• International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief

  Awareness

  On 22 August the UN remembers people harmed by violence because of their religion or belief and calls for support for them.

Saturday 23 August 2025

• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

  Awareness

  On 23 August UNESCO remembers the transatlantic slave trade and marks the 1791 uprising in Saint Domingue, now Haiti, that helped bring about its end.

Monday 25 August 2025

• Summer bank holiday (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)

  Public holidays

  A bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Wednesday 27 August 2025

• World Lake Day

  Awareness

  World Lake Day on 27 August raises awareness of lakes and the need to manage and protect them sustainably.

Friday 29 August 2025

• International Day against Nuclear Tests

  Awareness

  The International Day against Nuclear Tests on 29 August raises awareness of the effects of nuclear test explosions and calls for them to end.

Saturday 30 August 2025

• International Bat Night

  Awareness30 to 31 August 2025

  A celebration of bats on the last full weekend of August, with bat walks and talks across Europe and the UK.

• International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

  Awareness

  On 30 August the UN honours people who have been forcibly disappeared and supports their families' right to the truth.

Sunday 31 August 2025

• International Day for People of African Descent

  Awareness

  On 31 August the UN celebrates the heritage and contributions of people of African descent and calls for an end to racial discrimination.

• International Day of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence

  Awareness

  On 31 August the UN promotes artificial intelligence that is safe, secure and trustworthy and that benefits everyone.

• International Overdose Awareness Day

  Awareness

  Held on 31 August, the world's largest campaign to remember people lost to overdose, reduce stigma and promote overdose prevention.