Diversity Calendar 2026-27

This may be used when deciding timetables, coursework deadlines & field trips etc. Dates are not intended to be prescriptive or exhaustive. You may suggest other notable dates via equalities@ucl.ac.uk

September 2026
October 2026
November 2026
December 2026
January 2027
February 2027
March 2027
April 2027
May 2027
June 2027
July 2027
August 2027
Useful Links
Absence due to religious commitments

September 2026

September marks East and South East Asian Heritage Month

11-13 Rosh Hashanah - New Year (Judaism)
14 Ganesh Chaturthi* (Hindu)
14 Fast of Gedaliah (Judaism)
14-20 National Inclusion Week
20-21 Yom Kippur (Judaism)
21 UN International Day of Peace
22 Autumn Equinox/Mabon (Wicca/Pagan)
23 Bi-Visibility Day
25-2 Sukkot (Judaism)

October 2026

October marks Black History Month

2-4 Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah (Judaism)
5-11 Dyslexia Awareness Week
10 World Mental Health Day
11 National Coming Out Day
11-20 Sharad Navratri** (Hindu)
13 Ada Lovelace Day
20 Dussehra** (Hindu)
20 Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth (Sikh)
21 International Pronouns Day
25-31 Ace Week
31 All Hallows' Eve (Christian)
31 Samhain/Hallowe'en (Wicca/Pagan)

November 2026

1 All Saints' Day (Christian)
2 All Souls’ Day (Christian)
8 Diwali (Hindu, Jain, Sikh)
8 Remembrance Sunday
8-15 Inter Faith Week
10 Birth of Báb (Bahá’í)
11 Birth of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í)
15-18 Chhath Puja (Hindu)
16-20 Anti-Bullying Week
19 UK Disability History Month
19 International Men's Day
20 Transgender Day of Remembrance
24 Kartik Purnima (Hindu, Jain, Sikh)
24 Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Birthday (Sikh)
26 Day of the Covenant (Bahá’í)
28 Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’í)
30 St. Andrew’s Day (Christian)

December 2026

1 World AIDS Day
2 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
3 International Day of People with Disabilities
5-13 Chanukah (Judaism)
8 Bodhi Day (Buddhist)
10 International Human Rights Day
16 Dhanu Sankranti (Hindu)
19 Asarah B'Tevet (Judaism)
20 Gita Jayanti (Hindu)
21 Winter Solstice/Yule (Wicca/Pagan)
25 Christmas Day
26 Boxing Day
28 Holy Innocents (Christian)

January 2027

1 New Year's Day
1 Mahayana New Year** (Buddhist)
4 World Braille Day
5-6 Lailat al-Miraj* (Islam)
6 Epiphany (Christian)
7 Christmas Day (Orthodox)
14 Maghi (Sikh)
17 World Religion Day
24 Tu B'Shevat (Judaism)
27 Holocaust Memorial Day

February 2027

February marks LGBT History Month

1 Imbolc (Christian/Pagan/Wiccan)
2 Candlemas (Christian)
6 Chinese New Year
6 International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
8-9 Ramadan* (Islam)
9 Shrove Tuesday (Christian)
10 Ash Wednesday - Lent Begins (Christian)
11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science
12 Vasant Panchami** (Hindu)
14 St. Valentine’s Day (Christian)
15 Nirvana Day (Buddhist)

March 2027

March marks Women’s History Month

1 St. David’s Day (Christian)
6-7 Laylat al-Qadr* (Islam)
8 Maha Shivaratri** (Hindu)
8 International Women's Day
9-10 Eid al-Fitr* (Islam)
15 International Day to Combat Islamophobia
15-21 Neurodiversity Celebration Week
17 St. Patrick's Day (Christian)
20 Spring Equinox/Ostara (Wicca/Pagan)
20-22 Hola Mohalla (Sikh)
21 Naw-Rúz (Bahá’í)
21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
23-24 Purim (Judaism)
26 Good Friday (Christian)
28 Easter Sunday (Christian)
29 Easter Monday (Christian)
31 International Transgender Day of Visibility

April 2027

14 Vaisakhi** (Hindu, Sikh)
19-23 National Stalking Awareness Week
21 First Day of Ridván (Bahá’í)
22-30 Passover (Judaism)
23 St. George’s Day (Christian)
26 International Lesbian Visibility Day
29 Ninth Day of Ridván (Bahá’í)
30-1 Beltane/May Eve (Wicca/Pagan)

May 2027

2 Twelfth Day of Ridván (Bahá’í)
2 International Family Equality Day
2 Orthodox Easter
3 May Day Bank Holiday
3-9 Deaf Awareness Week
10-16 Mental Health Awareness Week
17 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
17 Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Day* (Islam)
18 Eid al-Adha* (Islam)
19 Vesak
20-21 Global Accessibility Awareness Day
23 Lag B’Omer (Judaism)
23 Declaration of the Báb (Bahá’í)
26 Second Passover (Judaism)
29 Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í)
31 Spring Bank Holiday

June 2027

7-13 Carers' Week
8-9 Muharram - New Year* (Islam)
12-14 Shavuot (Judaism)
14-20 Learning Disability Week
16 Guru Arjan martyrdom (Sikh)
18 Autistic Pride Day
21 Summer Solstice/Litha (Wicca/Pagan)
22 Windrush Day
23 International Women in Engineering Day
27-3 Deafblind Awareness Week

July 2027

July marks South Asian Heritage Month

10 Martyrdom of the Báb (Bahá’í)
14 International Non-Binary People’s Day
18 Asalha Puja / Dharma Day** (Buddhist)
18 Nelson Mandela International Day
25 Shivah Asar B'Tammuz
25 St. James the Great Day (Christian)
25-15 The Three Weeks (Judaism)

August 2027

1 Lughnassadh/Lammas (Wicca/Pagan)
13-16 Obon** (Buddhist)
15 Tisha B'Av
21 Raksha Bandhan** (Hindu)
22 Tu b’Av (Judaism)
23 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
25 Krishna Janmashtami** (Hindu)
30 Late Summer Bank Holiday

* Holy days usually begin at sundown the day before this date.

** Local or regional customs may use a variation of this date.

Useful Links

Please refer to Interfaith for a fuller list of events and festivals.

Absence due to religious commitments

It has been agreed at UCL that student requests to be absent due to religious commitments should be considered sympathetically. Students should not be registered as ‘absent without good cause’ if they are absent due to religious commitments, provided this has been discussed and agreed in advance with their tutor.

Staff wishing to observe religious festivals and holy days should discuss this with their manager in advance. Managers in turn are encouraged to sympathetically consider requests for annual leave or flexible work schedules from staff wishing to participate in religious festivals, and to be prepared to make changes to working arrangements if they don’t cause undue disruption in terms of service or unduly impact on others.

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