The winter solstice sunrise at Stonehenge will be live streamed this year, as English Heritage cannot host the usual celebrations at the prehistoric stones due to the pandemic. The solstice stream will take place on 21 December.  

The winter solstice at Stonehenge normally attracts crowds of approximately 5,000 people. Mindful of the risk of people gathering in such large numbers, the charity has made the decision in the interest of public health, and following clear advice from both Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire Police. 

Instead, people from around the world will be able to watch the sunrise live and for free on English Heritage’s social media channels. Approximately 5.2m people enjoyed English Heritage’s online summer solstice coverage in June earlier this year.

Nichola Tasker, Stonehenge Director, said:

'We are very disappointed that we cannot host our usual winter solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.

'The solstices and equinoxes are incredibly important moments in Stonehenge’s calendar, but this year has not been kind to such gatherings.

'We hope instead that people will enjoy the solstice sunrise online from their home. We can’t wait to do the winter solstice justice at Stonehenge next year.'

The decision not to host the winter solstice gathering at Stonehenge was made prior to the announcement of the forthcoming new national restrictions for England. 

To experience the Stonehenge winter solstice live stream visit English Heritage on social media:

www.youtube.com/EnglishHeritage

https://twitter.com/EnglishHeritage 

Find out more about Stonehenge and the solstice.

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