Harlow Council has signed a £240,331 staging contract for the Town Show's return after more than 40 years; the key dates and how tickets work for 28 to 30 August.

Harlow Council will pay £240,331 for the technical production of this month’s Town Show, under a contract signed off by the council’s Leader on 10 August and published in a decision record the following day. The deal lands just over a fortnight before the show returns to Town Park over the August bank holiday weekend, Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August, for the first time in more than 40 years.

The contract goes to D&B Solutions Ltd, appointed directly through the NEPRO framework agreement via Constellia rather than by open tender. The record is frank about why: the council “does not have suitably qualified or experienced internal resource” to stage the production itself, and there was “insufficient time to undertake a compliant process” for a full competitive tender. The money buys the technical production of the show’s musical performance slots, part of what the record calls a “landmark programme of events”.

It is not the only Town Show contract signed this month. A separate decision, taken on 7 August, commits a further £59,500 to contracts for a third tranche of performers, listed only as “Performers D-F”; the accompanying report is restricted, so the record does not name the acts. The headliners the council has announced so far, on its Town Show page, are Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Tom Zanetti.

Free entry, but you need a ticket, and evenings are residents only

The show runs 10am to 8pm each day at the Showground in Town Park, according to the council’s event listing, with the day billed as family entertainment and showground spectacles and each evening ending in headline music. Entry is free but tickets must be booked in advance through harlowtownshow.com, and every evening ticket is reserved exclusively for Harlow residents, with each ticket holder’s name and address checked at booking.

Demand has been enormous. More than 60,000 free tickets were reserved in the first release, which opened on 24 July, and the council opened a second release of evening tickets at 6pm on Friday 7 August. Announcing it, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Dan Swords, said the response from residents “has been incredible”.

Timeline of Harlow Town Show 2026 key dates: first tickets released 24 July, second evening-ticket release opened 7 August, reservation verification under way now, and show days at Town Park from 28 to 30 August, 10am to 8pm
Graphic by Harlow Online.

There is one catch for the tens of thousands who already booked: the council is emailing every reservation holder to verify their booking, and tickets that are not verified will be cancelled and released to other Harlow residents. The verification email carries an online form to complete, and the council advises checking junk and spam folders if it has not arrived. Questions go to townshow@harlow.gov.uk.

What it means for you

If you have already reserved tickets, check your inbox and complete the verification now; an unverified reservation will not survive to the bank holiday. If you missed the first release, capacity from the second evening-ticket release, plus anything freed up by cancelled reservations, is booked through harlowtownshow.com, and evening slots are only open to Harlow residents. And if a full Showground weekend is not your thing, the daytime programme still runs 10am to 8pm across all three days.

Getting there will be the next question for a park expecting crowds of this size; check our Harlow roadworks and travel page before you set out, and our things to do in Harlow guide covers the park and the rest of the district for the quieter weekends either side.