From a show-stopping Eurovision party and a right Royal celebration, to the opening of a major new cultural, foodie, and outdoor experiences, here's our round-up of England's top new offerings for 2023.
Must-visit events, festivals, and exhibitions
May 2023 will see Britain in the global spotlight once again with all eyes on London for the Coronation of King Charles III on 6 May. Expect royal-themed events, exhibitions and celebrations across the country on this extended bank holiday weekend and beyond
Just a week later, it's Liverpool's time to shine as it hosts the Eurovision 2023 grand finale on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine on 13 May.
Nine shows actually take place in front of a live audience (from 8 May) meaning there are more chances to see the show live and experience the UNESCO City of Music than you might expect. Stay a little longer and you'll catch the 25th anniversary of Liverpool Biennial, the UK's largest contemporary visual arts festival, taking place across the city's public spaces, galleries and museums from 10 June to 17 September 2023
England's festival scene has some new additions for 2023. ReBalance Bath (7 – 26 February 2023) looks set to celebrate all things wellness, marking the city's second UNESCO accreditation for the spa water as part of the Great Spas of Europe project.
Expect luxury hotel spa packages and a programme of bookable activities, free events and taster sessions, including laughter yoga, cold-water therapy at Cleveland Pools, teen yoga, motivational talks with Bath Rugby Foundations and an aqua sauna at Thermae Bath Spa. Restaurants are taking part too. The London Festival will be a two-week summer
extravaganza of feel-good entertainment, history and culture in the capital's iconic Hyde Park to raise money for a host of the city's charities. And there's a new music festival on the scene too in the shape of Coastella (30 June – 2 July 2023), which comes to the shores of North Shields next summer with headliners Futureheads leading the charge
It's the 10th anniversary of TransPride Brighton on 15 July 2023, having established itself as the biggest Trans Pride event in Europe. Join over 10,000 people for a packed programme of fun events in a safe and inclusive space
With 365 days of cultural activity planned across all 33 of the city's wards, LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture will unleash creativity in a three-part programme designed to 'let culture loose' across the whole city. The celebration year kicks off on 7 January 2023 with The Awakening live show at Headingley Stadium, hosted by Gabby Logan and Sanchez Payne. Showcasing the city's cultural past, present and future, it is set to be an unmissable event with music from top class acts, poetry, dance and comedy
The world's leading accolade for contemporary art, the Turner Prize will make its home in Towner Eastbourne next autumn, with the new 2023 shortlist featuring as the centerpiece of the gallery's centenary celebrations from 28 September 2023 to 14 January 2024
More coastal fun can be had at the Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta (15 – 18 August 2023) as the Cornish town hosts the start of the Tall Ships Race, Magellan-Elcano 2023, for the first time in nine years. Expect several days of festivities to precede the start of the race, including the Parade of Sail and the chance to board some of the ships.
The nautical theme continues at the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery where for the first time a new exhibition, The Last Voyage of the Gloucester: Norfolk's Royal Shipwreck 1682 (25 February – 10 September 2023), will allow people to see some of the finds from the recent discovery of the wreck of the 17th Century HMS Gloucester – hailed as the most important shipwreck discovery since the raising of the Mary Rose
Hot tickets – New attractions & experiences
Manchester's regeneration continues apace with a host of new cultural openings planned for 2023. Manchester Museum opens in February following a £15m transformation project with a brand-new two-storey extension, new exhibition hall, the South Asia Gallery and the Chinese Culture Gallery alongside a host of impressive upgrades to the existing museum. Hot on its heels will be the June launch of Factory International, set to be the North's flagship cultural centre. This game-changing ultra-flexible performance space will also be the permanent home of Manchester International Festival with large-scale immersive exhibition experiences from the likes of Yayoi Kusama and Danny Boyle in the planning.
Later in the year, the 23,500-capacity Co-Op Live arena will be the UK's greenest live music venue when it opens.
For some glitz and glamour, Showtown is a brand-new attraction opening at Blackpool's new Sands Venue Resort Hotel & Spa in 2023 to celebrate the comedians, dancers, acrobats and characters who've brought showbiz to the seaside resort. Meanwhile at GameShow Studios in London, step inside the world of the golden age of TV gameshows for a fully immersive fastest finger-first experience from spring 2023
It's a big year for the V&A with the completion of phase two of its Photography Centre making the South Kensington museum the UK's largest permanent gallery dedicated to photography. Its sister site Young V&A (formerly known as the Museum of Childhood) will also re-open in Bethnal Green in summer 2023 as a new national museum and creative powerhouse for children and young teens. It's the most radical overhaul in the museum's 150-year history. And watch this space for the opening of V&A East Museum in 2025
The Faith Museum at Auckland Castle in County Durham will be the first museum in England to explore the story of faith in the British Isles when it opens in autumn 2023. Featuring 10 new gallery spaces across two floors, the museum is housed in the historic Scotland Wing of Auckland Castle
Hull's quest to become a world-class Maritime City is underway with five of the former UK City of Culture's key maritime heritage assets being restored. Expect new and refurbished visitor centres and facilities from summer 2023, including the reopening of Spurn Lightship in a new location and a new visitor attraction at North End Shipyard where the Arctic Corsair will be in a dry berth
Foodies rejoice – New places to eat, drink and be merry
There's no chance of going thirsty on an English break in 2023. New to the scene will be Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery, opening in Northumberland in spring.
The new, sustainably built, immersive museum will feature a whisky distillery, re-awakening a 200-year-old local tradition. In the autumn, Guinness will be bringing a historic brewing site, that first brewed beer in 1722, back to life in London. The brand-new 50,000sqft microbrewery; community, educational and event space; visitor store; and open-fire kitchen complete with a rooftop venue will be housed at Covent Garden's Old Brewer's Yard
Foodies won't go hungry either with great value street food on offer at new food halls across the country. Highlights include Diecast, a new brewery, food hall and night market opening in Manchester's emerging Piccadilly East neighbourhood from late 2022; a new BoxHall dining hub and events space coming to Bristol's Welshback Waterfront and Liverpool Street, London next summer and the first BoxPark outside of London in Liverpool later in the year. Bradford's new £21m Darley Street market will include numerous street food vendors, music performances and community space when it opens in September 2023 as Bradford gets ready for its time as UK City of Culture 2025
The much-anticipated England Coast Path is well on its way to becoming the longest continuous coastal walking route in the world, with Natural England hoping to have all stretches approved and with establishment works under way by the end of 2023.
To mark the occasion, the National Coastal Tourism Academy has dubbed 2023 Year of the Coast with a focus on sustainability and the protection of the marine environment. There's loads going on, from food festivals to beach cleans and volunteering opportunities
England's Piers are a key part of our coastal identity and 2023 will see new developments across a number of sites. Lincolnshire's historic Cleethorpes Pier celebrates its 150th anniversary in August 2023 with celebrations in the planning, whilst in North Somerset the Pier to Pier Way will be a new 13-mile cycle route linking the piers of Weston-Super-Mare and Clevedon
New free art walking trails will add some magic to your meander in locations across the country. Deep Time will launch in summer 2023 as a new public art programme bringing six permanent art installations to the Lake District's coast by acclaimed artists from the UK and around the world. From January, the North Downs Way Art Trail, will complete, encouraging walkers and cyclists to enjoy the views along the trail between Dover in Kent and Farnham, Surrey via a series of sculptures that work as benches or shelters as well as reflecting the beauty of each location. Each one will be supported by a range of downloadable, self-guided walking and/or cycling routes
As night falls, there's no excuse not to get out on an adventure thanks to England's growing range of dark sky experiences and festivals. 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, the UK's largest and first International Dark Sky Park, which spans nearly 1,500 sqkm of Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park. You can see constellations and galaxies with the naked eye here, beneath the most pristine dark skies in England. Watch this space for celebration events
England on screen in 2023
England will once again play a starring role in some of the year's hottest blockbuster releases. Filming for Indiana Jones 5 (out 30 June 2023) starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge took place across the north of the UK including Grosmont, the Yorkshire Moors, and Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, whilst Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible 7 (out July 2023) was shot across the country including Birmingham Grand Central Station, the Lake District's Buttermere and Stoney Middleton in Derbyshire
2023 will also see new film adaptations of literary classics. JM Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy novel, featuring the London-based Darling family, will enjoy a live-action remake story from Disney+ in winter 2023 as Peter Pan and Wendy. The Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is reimagined in Wonka (out 15 December 2023), a star-studded Warner Bros prequel imagining how Wonka met the Oompa Loompas, which was filmed in locations including Lyme Regis, Dorset and Bath
And of course, who can forget Bridgerton, which returns for its third season in early 2023; expect England's beautiful historic backdrops to feature once again