A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is the Christmas Eve service held in King's College Chapel since 1918. It was first broadcast in 1928 and is now broadcast to millions of people.
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was introduced by Eric Milner-White in 1918 to bring a more imaginative approach to worship. The service includes readings from the Bible. The opening carol is always 'Once in Royal David's City', and there is always a new, specially commissioned carol.
It is distinct from Carols from King's, which is a carol service pre-recorded for BBC television, also broadcast on Christmas Eve.
Attending A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was first conceived as a gift to the City of Cambridge and it is in that spirit that the College makes approximately half the tickets for this service available to members of the public. Tickets are distributed in advance to those who are successful in the annual online ballot. There is no longer a public queue for tickets.
This page will be updated in early Autumn 2026 with full details and links to apply for tickets in the ballot. Please check back then.
Listening to the service
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service on 24 December at 3pm GMT (10:00 EST or 07:00 PST). The service is also re-broadcast at 1pm on Radio 3 on Christmas Day, and at various times on the BBC World Service.
In the United States the service is distributed by American Public Media and is broadcast by over 400 radio stations, including Minnesota Public Radio and WQXR in New York. As there is no list of radio stations that are broadcasting the service it's best to contact your local stations or check their online listings.
