The Royal Variety Performance takes the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 20 November 2026, with the official aftershow party held at the Natural History Museum.
The Royal Variety Performance, held for a charity now well into its second century, returns to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington on Friday 20 November 2026.
The Royal Variety Charity was founded in 1908 to care for people who had spent their working lives in entertainment. The first Royal Performance was staged for it in 1912, with King George V and Queen Mary in the box.
It has run almost every year since, at the Palladium, the Hammersmith Apollo and the Royal Albert Hall, where it marked its 100th in 2012. The King is its patron.
The money keeps Brinsworth House, the charity’s care home for people from the profession. It also funds grants and mental health support for performers and crew who are out of work or unwell. Each year the bill is drawn from the top of British entertainment.
The charity’s aftershow party is held the same night at the Natural History Museum, a short walk from the Hall. The performance is recorded for television and broadcast in December.