Bodicote's display at Banbury Cricket Club has ended after 54 years. Kidlington's is confirmed for 5 November, gates 6pm, and Bicester has not set a date yet.

There is no bonfire night display in Banbury this year, and there is not going to be one. The display most of the town went to, Bodicote’s at Banbury Cricket Club on White Post Road, has ended for good after 54 years. Bonfire Night 2026 falls on Thursday 5 November.

The nearest confirmed display with tickets on sale is Kidlington’s, and Banbury Town Council’s own fireworks are now at the end of November, not the start.

Bodicote’s display has ended

Bodicote Village Hall Committee ran the fireworks and bonfire at Banbury Cricket Club every year from 1970. It announced on its own Facebook page that it was stopping, saying it had “had to make the very difficult decision that this event will no longer be able to take place”.

Three reasons were given:

  • Parking has gone. Development at Bodicote House, Cherwell District Council’s former headquarters next to Kingsfield, removes the field the event used for parking, and there is no other suitable site.
  • Access has narrowed, with new housing built around Kingsfield and behind Banbury Cricket Club.
  • The financial risk. Running costs for a display that size had risen a long way.

It started in 1970 as a small village display and grew into the biggest in the Banbury area.

If you want a second check on that, look at the venue. Banbury Cricket Club published a fireworks notice on its website in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2024 one gave 6pm gates, a 7.30pm display and £5 cash on the gate with under-5s free. It has published nothing about fireworks since. Its archive was read on 5 September 2026.

Kidlington, Thursday 5 November: confirmed and on sale

This is the one to book. Kidlington Town Council runs it and tickets are already live.
Date Thursday 5 November 2026, Bonfire Night itself
Where Stratfield Brake Sports Ground, 19 Frieze Way, Kidlington OX5 1UP
Gates 6pm
Main display 7pm, prompt start
Tickets On sale through the council’s TicketSource shop

The council describes low-noise fireworks with a laser show, a fire performer before the main display, family fairground rides, food and refreshment stalls and a barbecue run by Gosford All Blacks Rugby Club.

Two rules that will catch people out. There is no public parking on site at all, other than for Blue Badge holders, whose badge must be clearly displayed on arrival. And you may not bring or light sparklers anywhere on the site.

Ticket prices are not shown on the public listing. They only appear once you start a booking, so we cannot quote a figure here.

Stratfield Brake sits between Kidlington and the A34, about sixteen miles south of Banbury on the A4260.

Bicester: nothing on sale yet

Bicester Round Table’s Charity Firework Spectacular at Pingle Field is the biggest display in the district, run with Bicester Ladies Circle. It has not been announced for 2026.

Its TicketSource page, read on 5 September 2026, lists only the 2025 event, on Saturday 1 November 2025, 4pm to 10pm at Pingle Field Football Complex, and marks it as past. Nothing has replaced it. Bicester Town Council’s published 2026 events schedule runs from Remembrance Sunday on 8 November straight to the Christmas Light Switch-On on 28 November, with no fireworks in it, because the Round Table event is not a council one.

Based on the last few years, expect an announcement and tickets in October, for a Saturday close to the 5th.

Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa also ran a public display last year, on 2 November 2025, with gates at 5.30pm, fireworks around 7pm and tickets at £7.50 with under-5s free. Its news index carries nothing newer, checked on 5 September 2026, so treat that page as last year’s until it changes.

Banbury’s own fireworks are on 29 November

Banbury Town Council does not run anything on bonfire night. Its 2026 events calendar goes Michaelmas Fair on 14 to 17 October, Remembrance Sunday on 8 November, then the Christmas Lights Switch On.

The council’s fireworks are at that switch-on: Sunday 29 November, at around 5pm, for about five minutes, over the Market Place as the lights come on. It is free and there is no ticket. Full details are on our Banbury Christmas lights switch-on page.

Village displays

Several villages around Banbury have run their own bonfire nights in past years, including Cropredy Cricket Club and King’s Sutton playing fields. None has published a 2026 date at the time of writing. Village committees typically confirm in the second half of October, and often only on a Facebook page.

If you are told about one, check it against the organiser’s own post before you drive out. Listing sites in this area are unusually stale: the national fireworks directories still carry Bicester Round Table entries from 2017 and a Bodicote listing for a display that no longer exists.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Kidlington ticket prices, which are not shown until checkout.
  • Bicester Round Table’s 2026 date and prices, expected in October.
  • Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa’s 2026 display, expected in October.
  • Cropredy, King’s Sutton and other village displays.

We will update this page as each is announced. If a display does bring road closures with it, they will show up on our Banbury roadworks and travel page, and our parking page has the town centre tariffs.

Sources

Checked on 5 September 2026. Displays get cancelled for weather and for money. Confirm with the organiser on the day.