Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is an annual event which takes place on the evening of the 20 June and the morning of 21 June. The monument is aligned towards the sunrise on the summer solstice and sunset on the winter solstice. Stonehenge is a place of worship to Neo-Druids, Pagans and other "Earth based' or 'old' religions. [1]
History Apart from a few interested visitors, the first recorded summer solstice gatherings started to occur after the opening of the railway to Salisbury in 1859 as a connecting point. According to Andy Worthington in his book Stonehenge Celebration and Subversion [2] the solstice initially became of note to antiquarians and aristocratic patrons, followed by locals on foot, bicycles, horse drawn carriages. A party atmosphere was often present. By the turn of the twentieth century Druid revivalists started to hold ceremonies with groups of onlookers and the site was fenced for the first time. [3] The arrival of motorised vehicles also facilitated larger attendances, particularly when a solstice coincided with a weekend. Later influences included the British folk revival, right to roam, Beaulieu Jazz Festivals of the 1950s, combined with the greater social freedoms of the post war period. [2] By the early 1970s the site become a focus for counterculture and a free festival emerged. This ended in the so-called Battle of the Beanfield in 1985. Access was then restricted for the next few years until the High Court ruled the exclusion zone unlawful and the modern Open Access was created at the turn of the millennium. [4]
Open Access is one of the few times a year the general public can enter the main circle for free. The other times are the winter solstice and spring and autumnal equinoxes. The main focus of the gathering is based around the sunset, the night time vigil and observing the sunrise. Various ceremonies and rituals also take place, as well as the playing of acoustic music, dancing and singing. People are also able to touch the stones. Please see below list of past gatherings.
| Year | Sunrise Report | Stonehenge summer solstice gatherings |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Reasonably clear | Large crowd of around 25,000 due to hot weather and open access falling on a weekend. [5] National Highways close the A303 between 2am and 10am due to high volumes of traffic and people leaving their vehicles by the roadside. [6] |
| 2024 | Clear sunrise | The gathering passed off peacefully despite a Just Stop Oil protest a few days earlier (15,000) [7] [8] |
| 2023 | Misty morning | Thousands gather for the summer solstice (10,000) [9] |
| 2022 | Cloudy | First official gathering since lockdown (6,000) [10] |
| 2021 | Cloudy | Despite solstice access being officially cancelled due to on-going lockdown restrictions, a couple of hundred people still managed to enter the site [9] |
| 2020 | Sunday morning | Solstice gathering cancelled due to lockdown restrictions [11] |
| 2019 | Clear | Weekend solstice Friday night, sunrise on Saturday morning (10,000) [12] |
| 2018 | Clear sunrise | Centenary of the gifting of Stonehenge to the nation by local barrister Cecil Chubb (9,500) [13] |
| 2017 | Reasonably clear | Extra security due to the Manchester Arena bombing a month earlier (13,000) [14] [15] |
| 2016 | Clear | Alcohol ban and car parking charges introduced [16] Full moon in conjunction with the night of the celebrations (12,000) [17] [18] |
| 2015 | Clear | Thousands mark the summer solstice at Stonehenge (23,000) [19] |
| 2014 | Reasonably clear | The BBC Culture Show broadcast a 'Battle for Stonehenge' special featuring the new visitor centre and a history of open access. (37,500) [20] [21] |
| 2013 | Grey cloud | BBC Sky at Night films a 'Solstice Special' during the celebrations (21,000) [22] [23] |
| 2012 | Heavy rain | Transit of Venus earlier in the month on 6 June (14,500) [24] |
| 2011 | Rain and cloud | Heavy rain dampens the proceedings (18,000) [25] |
| 2010 | Reasonably clear | A 6.7 m high metal sculpture called 'The Ancestor' was displayed (22,000) [26] [27] |
| 2009 | Cloudy brighter later | Access time brought forward again to 19:00 (36,500) [28] [29] |
| 2008 | Cloudy with some rain | Access time brought forward to 20:00. Final appearance of the King's Drummers Bateria samba band before health and safety regulations stopped future torch lit parades at the stones. (36,290) [30] |
| 2007 | Cloudy, brighter later | Access times altered to 20:30 to 08:00. Glastonbury Festival starts the next day [31] (24,093) |
| 2006 | Rain and cloud | England vs Sweden in the FIFA World Cup on the evening of 20 June [32] results in many arriving late and heavy rain leads to a lower attendance. Access times 22:00 to 09:00 (18,700) [33] |
| 2005 | Clear sunrise | Monday night, Tuesday morning (23,000) |
| 2004 | Misty | Visitor poll undertaken during the gathering asking such questions about travel arrangements and if they had been before. [34] Transit of Venus earlier in the month on 8 June (21,000) [35] |
| 2003 | Clear | Agreement reached to continue holding access on the established date of the 20 / 21 June. Access times to the stones altered to 02:00 to 12:00 noon, although in practice access to monument field occurred around 01:00 (30,000) [2] [36] [37] |
| 2002 | Rain | Many leave early to watch England play Brazil in the FIFA World Cup (22,000) [38] [39] |
| 2001 | Clear | Access times extended to eleven hours running from 22:00 to 09:00 |
| 2000 | Heavy rain | First year of Managed Open Access, entry times to the stones 23:30 on 20 June to 07:30 on 21 June (6,000) |
