Qatar Goodwood Festival (Glorious Goodwood)
Qatar Goodwood Festival (Glorious Goodwood) takes place Jul 28 - Aug 1, 2026 (next edition late Jul 2027) in Chichester, United Kingdom. The dress code is Summer chic: linen suits and Panama hats for men, light dresses and hats for women. The Richmond Enclosure requires a jacket and collared shirt for men but explicitly bans top hats - the whole point is that it is less stiff than Ascot. Typical cost ranges from 300 to 2000 EUR per person.
Five days of high-summer flat racing on a natural amphitheatre course high on the South Downs, headlined by the Goodwood Cup, the Sussex Stakes and the Nassau Stakes. The setting is the draw: sea views to the south, downland to the north, and a deliberately relaxed dress culture built on Panama hats rather than morning dress. It feels like a garden party that happens to have Group 1 racing attached.
- When
- Jul 28 - Aug 1, 2026 (next edition late Jul 2027)
- Where
- Chichester, United Kingdom
- Dress code
- Summer chic: linen suits and Panama hats for men, light dresses and hats for women. The Richmond Enclosure requires a jacket and collared shirt for men but explicitly bans top hats - the whole point is that it is less stiff than Ascot
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 300 to 2000 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 20 - 25C, warm and often sunny with a coastal breeze on the hilltop
- When to book
- Tickets open in the autumn before; book Chichester and Sussex hotels 6 months out as the whole area fills
- Getting there
- LGW (London Gatwick), 75 min to venue
- Where to stay
- The Goodwood Hotel, The Spread Eagle Hotel (Midhurst), Harbour Hotel Chichester
- Official site
- https://www.goodwood.com/horseracing/qatar-goodwood-festival/
How to attend
Buy via goodwood.com. Lennox and Gordon enclosure tickets typically start around the equivalent of EUR 35 - 50, with the Richmond Enclosure and hospitality boxes far higher. Fully public with no ballot; the Richmond Enclosure is the members-and-guests tier but day badges are sold. A free race-day shuttle bus runs from Chichester railway station, which is about 90 minutes from London Victoria.
Insider tip
Walk out to the Trundle, the Iron Age hill fort overlooking the course - it is free public land with a full view of the racing and the sea beyond, and locals have used it as a grandstand for generations.
Get inside Qatar Goodwood Festival (Glorious Goodwood)
Booking matters here: tickets open in the autumn before; book Chichester and Sussex hotels 6 months out as the whole area fills. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.