St Albans has no council New Year's Eve fireworks. What is on: the NYE 10K from Highfield Park at 9.30am (£33), two panto shows and a casino gala at the Manor.

St Albans has no council-run New Year’s Eve event and no public fireworks display this year. The district council’s list of events booked into Verulamium Park in 2026 ends with the Fireworks Spectacular on 7 November, and nothing is listed for Thursday 31 December. What New Year’s Eve does have is a morning 10K along the Alban Way, two panto performances at the Alban Arena and a ticketed gala dinner at St Michael’s Manor.

The quick answer

  • Fireworks: none in St Albans on New Year’s Eve. The city’s display was on 7 November (St Albans City and District Council)
  • Run it: the ATW St Albans New Year’s Eve 10K starts at 9.30am on Thursday 31 December in Highfield Park, with a free children’s fun run just before. Entry is listed at £33 (ATW Events)
  • Panto: Beauty and the Beast plays the Alban Arena at 11am and 3pm on New Year’s Eve, from £16 (Everyone Theatres)
  • Night out: St Michael’s Manor’s Casino Gala Night, 7pm to 1am, with an eight-course tasting menu (St Michael’s Manor)

The New Year’s Eve 10K, Highfield Park

ATW Events runs the St Albans New Year’s Eve 10K on Thursday 31 December 2026, starting at 9.30am. Its race page describes a single-lap course that starts and finishes in Highfield Park, runs out along the Alban Way, the disused railway line towards Hatfield, loops round via Sleapshyde and comes back the same way. It is on tarmac with a grass finish field, flat, and mostly away from traffic.

  • Entry: £33, the price in the race page’s own listing data
  • Children’s Fun Run: free, just before the 10K start, with no need to book
  • At the finish: a medal, event photos, snacks and a glass of fizz, with live music, a bar and a coffee van for supporters

Parking is the weak point, and the organiser says so. There are only about 50 bays at the YMCA on Russet Drive, which it expects to fill almost immediately, and it “strongly” advises getting dropped off. Its fallback is the Station Way multi-storey at St Albans City station, about 600 spaces and roughly 1.5 miles from the start. Our St Albans parking page has the council car park tariffs.

Panto on New Year’s Eve

The Alban Arena’s pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, has two performances on Thursday 31 December, at 11am and 3pm, in the box office’s own schedule. Tickets start at £16 plus a £3.50 transaction fee on each booking. There is no performance on New Year’s Day; the run resumes on 2 January. Every date and the cast are on our St Albans panto page.

Harpenden’s panto, Rapunzel at the Eric Morecambe Centre, finishes on 30 December, so it is not an option on the day.

A night out: the Casino Gala at St Michael’s Manor

The one ticketed New Year’s Eve party we found on a St Albans venue’s own events listing is the New Year’s Eve Casino Gala Night at St Michael’s Manor Hotel, on Fishpool Street, from 7pm to 1am. The hotel describes an eight-course tasting menu with live entertainment through dinner, after which a DJ takes over and the casino tables open. Its listing does not give a price; book through the hotel.

Pubs and restaurants in the city centre run their own New Year’s Eve nights, usually announced in December. If you run one, tell us (details below) and we will add it.

Skating and getting home

The nearest ice rink, Planet Ice in Hemel Hempstead, is open on New Year’s Eve daytime but has no late session; times are on our St Albans ice rink page.

Thameslink and the Abbey Line have not yet published their New Year’s Eve timetables. When they do, the last trains will go on our Christmas travel page, and any road closures on our roadworks and travel page.

What is still to come

  • New Year’s Eve train times from Thameslink and the Abbey Line.
  • Pub and restaurant parties, which venues usually announce in December.
  • Any change to the 10K: start time and entry price are as published on 24 October 2026.

Everything here was checked against the organisers’ own pages on 24 October 2026. Running an event in St Albans on New Year’s Eve? Email hello@stalbansdaily.co.uk with the time, venue, price and a link.

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