The council cut its Upton Court Park bonfire as a budget saving and has not brought it back. The two nearest confirmed 2026 displays are both on 7 November.

Slough has no town fireworks display. The council stopped running the Bonfire and Firework Spectacular at Upton Court Park as a budget saving, and nothing has replaced it. Bonfire Night 2026 falls on Thursday 5 November. The two nearest confirmed displays are both on Saturday 7 November, at Windsor Racecourse and at Braywick Park in Maidenhead.

This page sticks to what organisers have published themselves. Where a 2026 date is not out yet, it says so.

Why there is no Slough display any more

The council used to run it. Its equality impact assessment for budget saving RES-2324-11c describes “the proposal to stop providing public outdoor events including Bonfire and Firework Spectacular, Canal Festival, Festive Fun, Christmas Lights, Christmas Tree and switch on event”, along with deleting the marketing post that ran them. (Slough Borough Council, consolidated EIAs for the Chief Operating Officer directorate, scrutiny meeting 1 December 2022)

The same assessment records what the bonfire was: an event with a dedicated car park and a hard-standing viewing area for disabled visitors, which is why it drew a higher share of disabled attendees than the council’s other events. It also accepts that losing free events would fall hardest on families on low incomes.

The saving went through as part of RES-2324-11, worth £0.150m, described in the directorate’s budget presentation as a “cessation of some corporate outdoor events”. (Slough Borough Council, COO Budget 2023/24 presentation) Cabinet recommended the 2023/24 budget to full Council on 27 February 2023. (Slough Borough Council, agenda item 122)

It has not come back. The council’s own events calendar, filtered to Upton Court Park and set to the full list, returns nothing at all, and the whole borough-wide list runs to five entries, none of them a display. (Slough Borough Council events) No temporary road closure order for a firework event appears on the council’s public notices pages either. (Slough Borough Council, public notices and orders)

The two confirmed 2026 dates near Slough

Royal Windsor Racecourse, Saturday 7 November. The racecourse has the date on its own what’s on listing, under a traditional theme with a funfair. Gates, start and end times are all still marked TBA, and it says plainly: “Tickets aren’t live yet, so register your interest now”. (Royal Windsor Racecourse, Fireworks Night) The course is on Maidenhead Road on the Windsor side of the river, a short drive south of Slough.

Fire.Fest, Braywick Park, Maidenhead, Saturday 7 November. The organiser A & L Events carries “Fire.Fest 2026, Saturday 7th November 2026” on its own page, with a Traylens funfair and free parking on Sundays at Vicus Way, Braywick Road and Braywick Leisure Centre. Be careful reading that page: the body copy underneath is left over from last year and still talks about “its second year in 2025”. Its ticket link still points at the 2025 event, Sunday 2 November 2025, so 2026 tickets are not on sale yet. (A & L Events, Fire.Fest; Ticket Tailor)

The closest village display, and what it did last year

Eton Wick, just outside the borough on the Eton side, runs the nearest small display. In 2025 it was on Saturday 1 November, the bonfire lit at 7.30pm and the fireworks at 7.45pm, organised by the Eton Wick Firework Committee with Eton Wick Library as the beneficiary and youth club volunteers collecting donations. (The Wick 4-Weekly, edition 19, October 2025)

No 2026 date has appeared on the village association’s website yet. The committee announces through the village newsletter and the village Facebook pages, and last year the date was circulating by early October, so expect the same window. We will update this page when it lands.

If you are letting off fireworks at home

The council sets out the legal hours on its own noise pages. Fireworks can be let off between 7am and 11pm, with four exceptions: Bonfire Night, until midnight; Diwali, until 1am the following morning; New Year’s Eve, until 1am; and Chinese New Year, until 1am. Outside those hours it is a police matter on 101, not a council one, and the council says short bursts from several properties at once are close to impossible for it to act on. (Slough Borough Council, firework noise)

Two dates matter locally this year. The council’s licensing table for fireworks sellers gives Bonfire Night as 5 November 2026 and Diwali as 8 November 2026, and allows shop sales for Bonfire Night only between 15 October and 10 November. (Slough Borough Council, dates you can sell fireworks) Diwali falling on 8 November puts it on the same day as Remembrance Sunday.

The council’s advice is blunt: go to a professional display rather than letting them off at home, and if you do, give neighbours a few days’ notice, especially those who are elderly or have children or pets.

Getting there and parking

Both confirmed displays are outside the borough, so this is a driving or train night for most people. If you are parking in Slough before travelling on, charges now apply at nine park and leisure sites and the free stay has to be activated on RingGo or PayPoint or you will be fined: see parking in Slough for the tariffs and the sites. For anything affecting the drive out, check Slough roadworks and travel.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Eton Wick’s 2026 date, expected through the village newsletter and Facebook in early October.
  • Windsor Racecourse gates, start and end times, and the ticket on-sale date, both marked TBA on the racecourse’s own page as at 5 September.
  • Fire.Fest 2026 tickets and prices, which had not gone live on the organiser’s ticket page as at 5 September.

We check these sources again through October and update this page as each is published.