Windrush Day 2027
June 22, 2027
About Windrush Day 2027
Windrush Day 2027 is Tuesday 22 June 2027. Windrush Day is always 22 June, the anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948, and has been marked nationally with government funding since 2018.
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Monday 22 June 2026 |
| 2027 | Tuesday 22 June 2027 |
| 2028 | Thursday 22 June 2028 |
What is Windrush Day?
Windrush Day honours the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants to British life. It takes its name from HMT Empire Windrush, which docked at Tilbury in Essex on 22 June 1948 carrying more than 800 passengers from the Caribbean, many of them ex service personnel who had been invited to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War. The Windrush generation refers to the roughly half a million people who arrived from Commonwealth Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971.
The first national Windrush Day was held on 22 June 2018, the seventieth anniversary of the ship’s arrival, after the government announced an annual day and a grant scheme for community events. The Windrush Day Grant Scheme has since funded hundreds of projects, from exhibitions and school programmes to church services and street parties. The day was established in the same year the Windrush scandal came to light, when it emerged that some members of the generation had been wrongly detained, denied services or deported.
Why it matters for marketers and organisations
Windrush Day is an important moment for schools, councils, museums, faith groups, employers and the NHS, which has a particularly strong connection to Caribbean nurses and staff recruited in the post war decades. Employee networks and diversity teams use the day for storytelling, oral history and recognition. Charities and legal groups highlight the ongoing Windrush Compensation Scheme. The angle is celebration and acknowledgement: honour real contributions, give a platform to the generation’s own voices and avoid treating the day as a marketing opportunity.
Ideas: how to mark Windrush Day
- Invite a member of the Windrush generation or their family to speak to staff or pupils about their experience.
- Host an exhibition of photographs and documents from local Caribbean community archives.
- Run a school assembly or lesson using resources from the Black Cultural Archives or the National Archives.
- Organise a Caribbean lunch or street party with local restaurants and community groups.
- Share the stories of Caribbean born staff who helped build the NHS, public transport or your own organisation.
- Screen a documentary or host a book club on Windrush history, such as Andrea Levy’s Small Island.
- Publish information on the Windrush Compensation Scheme for anyone who may be eligible.
- Apply to the Windrush Day Grant Scheme to fund a community event for the following year.
Key facts
- HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948.
- The ship carried 1,027 passengers, of whom 802 gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean.
- The British Nationality Act 1948 gave citizens of the Commonwealth the right to live and work in the UK.
- The first national Windrush Day was held on 22 June 2018.
- The National Windrush Monument by Basil Watson was unveiled at Waterloo station on 22 June 2022.
- The Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched in April 2019.
Frequently asked questions
When is Windrush Day 2028?
Windrush Day 2028 is Thursday 22 June 2028, the eightieth anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush. Expect a larger programme of national events for the milestone year.
Is Windrush Day a bank holiday?
No. Windrush Day is a national day of commemoration but not a public holiday. Events are organised by councils, community groups, schools and charities, many with grant funding.
What was the Windrush scandal?
From 2017 it emerged that people who had arrived legally from the Commonwealth decades earlier were being treated as illegal immigrants because they lacked paperwork, with some losing jobs, housing and healthcare and some deported. The government apologised in 2018 and set up the compensation scheme.
Published 28 August 2026: dates checked for 2026 to 2028.
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