Est. 1977 · The biggest pub in the world

Great British Beer Festival

Since 1977, CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival has brought the very best cask, keg and craft beer, cider, and perry from across the UK. A place to discover great beers together with friends. Hundreds of brews from hundreds of breweries, all under one roof.

Look back with us Find a festival near you

GBBF is taking a break for now.

In the meantime, the beer doesn't stop. Up and down the country there are more than a hundred CAMRA festivals every year. Chances are there's a great one near you.

Find a CAMRA festival near you

By the numbers

Nearly fifty years of pulling pints

beers, ciders & perries under one roof

drinkers in our record week (2006)

pints poured that week

volunteers who make it happen

The biggest pub in the world

One hall. Hundreds of breweries. Everyone welcome.

Every August, GBBF turned the Olympia in West Kensington into a single, enormous pub serving around 900 different beers, at least 450 of them from British breweries, alongside real cider, perry, and hundreds beers from Belgium, Germany, the USA and beyond.

And it was all run by and for beer lovers. Around a thousand unpaid volunteers pulled the pints, staffed the bars and welcomed the world, alongside live music, traditional pub games and food from morning 'til last orders.

Pumps and a full bar at the Great British Beer Festival

A raised pint at the Great British Beer Festival

The crowd at the Great British Beer Festival

The pinnacle of British brewing

Where the nation's best beer was crowned.

Each year GBBF hosted CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain award, one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world, with the winners announced to a packed hall. A gold here is one of the most coveted honours in British brewing and helped put many brewers of all sizes in the media spotlight.

See this year's Champion Beer of Britain

Our history

From a tent in the park to the biggest pub in the world

Eight venues, five cities — scroll through nearly fifty years of British beer.

1977–80

1977–80 · London

Alexandra Palace

The first "proper" Great British Beer Festival. When fire tore through the Palace in 1980, the festival simply carried on... in tents.

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From the CAMRA shop

Beer Festivals: A Great British Tradition

The story of Britain's beer festivals — including tales from the Great British Beer Festival itself. A celebration of the people, the pints and the halls that made GBBF the biggest pub in the world.

Get the book