THE PR CALENDAR:
THE PR CALENDAR:
The PR Calendar helps you discover 1,200+ key dates, awareness days, national holidays and quirky celebrations for your brand activations.
Search by keyword, filter by category, or browse month by month to find the perfect conversation starter for your next campaign.
The PR Calendar:
1,200+ UK Awareness Days for 2025
What Are Awareness Days?
Awareness days are designated dates that highlight specific causes, celebrate cultural moments or promote important issues. From World Mental Health Day to World Vegetarian Day or even National Tea Day, these occasions give marketers and PR professionals timely hooks for campaigns - but they should be used strategically.
Why use an Awareness Day Calendar?
Marketing and PR professionals use awareness day calendars to:
Plan content calendars months ahead
Find relevant conversation starters for brand stories
Create timely social media content
Schedule campaigns around key moments
Spot opportunities competitors might miss
Here's what most PRs get wrong, however: a calendar hook alone is not a PR hook - and it doesn't make a campaign. Everyone knows it's Valentine's Day on 14th February. Your brand needs a unique reason to join that conversation and stand out from the crowd.
Strategic calendar planning: going beyond the calendar hook
Start with brand relevance
Before you jump on World Day celebrations, ask yourself: does your brand have authority to speak on this topic? If you’re a fintech company, posting generic content about Pet Day looks like you're grasping at straws. But if you were to launch research about pet insurance spending habits? That's more strategic.
Find your unique angle
The best timely PR campaigns use calendar hooks as conversation starters, then add something only your brand can contribute:
Data-driven insights: commission research that reveals new perspectives - or work with a data-orientated PR agency who’ll create compelling data stories for you.
Expert commentary: find the knowledgeable people in your company who'll deliver the tasty morsels of insight that you won't find elsewhere
Product integration: genuine product developments offer something new; tie it to an awareness day for more reach
Corporate action: awareness days can be a good jumping off point to announce meaningful company updates or moves
Timing beats trending
If you can, plan 6-8 weeks ahead. It means that while competitors are scrambling for those last-minute Valentine's Day angles, you can be planning your summer bank holiday campaigns or World Book Day initiatives - giving you more scope to craft cool ideas that switch up the conversation.
Our tip? Map your year ahead around events that naturally align with your business cycles and product launches. Plot out the obvious, in-vertical dates first, then look around for more unusual hooks where your brand can add an unusual angle.
We also recommend mixing big and small days. While everyone posts on Valentine's Day, smaller days like National Storytelling Week offer less crowded opportunities.
Monthly strategic opportunities: your awareness days guide
January: new year, new angles
Start the year strong with Dry January, Veganuary and Burns Night. January features 120+ opportunities including some more niche ones, like World Braille Day and National Puzzle Day. Chinese New Year and New Year's resolutions are a great starting point for data opportunities around consumer spending or self reflection.
February: love and data
Love is in the air with Valentine's Day, but don't let this overshadow Pancake Day and the start of Lent (usually in February), Random Acts of Kindness Week and LGBT+ History Month among 100+ more dates. Time Out to Talk Day and Children's Mental Health Week provide meaningful mental health campaign opportunities. Find the underused angles that create awareness without competing with the go-to dating and wellness brands.
March: women and work
International Women's Day and Mother's Day generate massive coverage, but Spring Bank Holiday and National Apprenticeship Week offer less crowded opportunities for workplace or education brands. St Patrick's Day and Comic Relief could springboard more jovial campaigns, while World Book Day and British Science Week could ground your work in intellectual pursuits.
April: growth and renewal
Earth Day marks an important occasion to reflect on brands' environmental impacts, but spring brings plenty more opportunities for renewal themes. World Health Day emphasises wellbeing while National Walk to Work Day encourages physical activity - which you can up the ante for in time for the London Marathon. It's a month of extremes, from the serious (Stress Awareness Month) to the silly (International Pillow Fight Day).
May: mental health focus
Mental Health Awareness Week tends to take centre, but don't let that dissuade you from activating around other important health dates like National Walking Month and Dementia Action Week. May's 125+ dates include Eurovision, the Chelsea Flower Show and International Museum Day. Bank holidays provide extra engagement opportunities, while VE Day is a chance for historical perspectives.
June: pride and purpose
Pride Month dominates, but it requires authentic participation rather than performative posting. It's not the only moment to get serious about your values: World Environment Day and World Oceans Day are great for eco initiatives, while Carers Week is an opportunity to highlight unsung heroes. We also welcome Summer with National Picnic Week, Wimbledon, the summer solstice and 115+ more awareness dates.
July: summer strategy
School holidays begin as July serves up National Ice Cream Month, World Chocolate Day, National Parks Month and the Tour de France. There’s often a World Cup on the cards, too. The fun ramps up with International Joke Day and International Day of Friendship, but there are also opportunities to get serious, with Plastic-free July and Disability Pride Month.
August: high festival season
Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Notting Hill Carnival on the Bank Holiday weekend are perfect for feel-good campaigns. Employee Appreciation Day often falls flat, so create meaningful data around workplace satisfaction for better performance. It's also National Relaxation Month - and a great time for hobbies and interests, from World Photography Day to Motorsports Awareness. For ethical activations, consider utilising Black Business Month or World Humanitarian Day.
September: education focus
World Alzheimer's Day and World Suicide Prevention Day require sensitive but strategic approaches. Naturally, it's back to school, but there are more opportunities to activate around education - National Coding Week and International Literacy day are in September, plus Heritage Open Days take place. Wellness brands should clock National Fitness Day and Organic September. Zero Waste Week and International Day of Peace can ground more serious campaign themes.
October: horror and hope
Halloween dominates, but October offers so much more for brands looking for meaning, with Black History Month, World Mental Health Day, National Coming Out Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. More unusual dates such as National Pumpkin Day and World Animal Day provide unexpected data angles, while National Poetry Day and Day of the Girl are opportunites for fresh perspectives.
November: gratitude and giving
Movember, Remembrance Day and Children in Need create fundraising opportunities - best used to raise money while building brand reputation. Diwali and Black Friday are key dates for giving but require strategic differentiation. Talk Money Week and National Writing Month are amongst the more unusal dates, while Anti-bullying week and International Day for Tolerance offer less-explored mental health activation opportunities.
December: reflection and revelry
Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve overshadow most of December, but don't let that put you off: there's plenty of press appetite for Human Rights Day, International Volunteer Day and the winter solstice, if you have something interesting to say. December's 100+ dates also include National Cookie Day and British Curry Day.
The Biggest Awareness Days of 2025
Valentine's Day - 5.8M searches, 69,458 articles, 6.1B Instagram hashtags
Black Friday - Peak commercial opportunity with massive media coverage
Halloween - Dominates both press coverage and social media
Christmas Day - Though surprisingly, International Women's Day generates more content
International Women's Day - More content created than Christmas
Mother's Day - Consistent high performer across all channels
Earth Day - Generates more engagement than Christmas
Star Wars Day - Outperforms traditional holidays like Palm Sunday
Galentines Day - More TikTok content than April Fools Day
Pride Month - Month-long opportunity for inclusive campaigns
Underutilised Opportunities
Days you’re probably missing:
National Lazy Day - Unexpectedly high engagement rates
International Dog Day - Officially more content-worthy than cat days
National Boyfriend Day - Higher search volume than Girlfriend Day
Dry January - More popular with press than Veganuary
Making it work: Your strategic approach
Great PR uses awareness days as launching pads, not destinations. This calendar shows you when the world could be listening - but what you choose to say will determine whether they remember your brand.
Your strategic approach should look a little like this:
Audit brand relevance to potential awareness days. Use the tool on this page as your starting point.
Research unique angles and plan creative executions to allow your brand to authentically contribute and add value to the conversation. If you need a helping hand with creative PR activations that stop the scroll, get in touch.
Prepare supporting content that sustains campaign momentum. It's great to raise awareness of a cause, but only a cohesive supporting strategy will capitalise on the brand building opportunity while getting the right balance of sensitivity.
Measure meaningful outcomes. Social media is far more than likes and shares, and press is more than coverage views. Working with a data-orientated agency will help you work out how much impact your campaign is really making.
Are you looking for fame and findability for your brand?
Start planning your PR calendar strategy today.