Coventry City Council is inviting local charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations to apply for a free chalet at the Christmas Market 2026.
Running from Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, the Christmas Market offers a fantastic opportunity to showcase your organisation, raise awareness of your work, connect with the local community and raise funds for a good cause.
Whether you are looking to promote your services, raise donations or share information about the work you do, we would love to hear from you!
Market details
- Market dates: Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027
- Location: Coventry city centre
- Cost: Free. Stall space will be provided at no charge to successful applicants
- Minimum booking: 1 week
- Availability: Organisations can apply for 1 or more weeks throughout the market period
We welcome applications from:
- Registered charities
- Community and voluntary organisations
- Not-for-profit groups
- Local organisations supporting charitable or community causes
Priority will be given to local charities, followed by local branches of national charities. All applications will be subject to approval and stall availability.
What you can do with the stall:
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to:
- Promote your charity, services and upcoming activities
- Share information about your cause and engage with visitors
- Collect donations and encourage community support
Important information and stall requirements
Before submitting an application, please ensure you can meet the following requirements:
Staffing and operation
- Charities are responsible for staffing and manning their stall throughout the full hours of operation
- Stallholders must ensure their stall remains attended and operational for the duration of their agreed booking
Health and safety
- All applicants must provide their own Risk Assessment and valid Public Liability Insurance
- Any electrical equipment brought onto site must have a valid PAT test where applicable and be safe for use
- All goods offered for sale must comply with relevant product safety legislation
Site arrangements and waste
- All vehicles must be removed from site by 10am and must not return until after 9pm
- Charities are responsible for keeping their stall area clean, tidy and presentable
- All waste generated by stallholders must be removed from site
How to apply
If your organisation would like to be part of this year's Christmas Market, please make sure you read the terms and conditions first.
You can then complete the application form. [http://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/RckmjkpKXR]
Applications are open until all available charity stall spaces have been filled. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and spaces will be allocated subject to approval and availability. We encourage organisations to apply early to avoid disappointment.
Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee a stall. Successful applicants will be contacted by Coventry City Council with confirmation and further information about stall arrangements, access, set-up and event-day requirements.
Terms and conditions
A covered stall will be provided (for registered charities only) free of charge.
The size of the stall will be a 3m x 2m covered chalet space.
Mobile and/or roaming traders and fly-pitchers are strictly prohibited without consent from the organisers. Anyone found to be selling products without the authorisation of the organisers will have their items confiscated and may be evicted from site.
Please note, no furniture will be provided as part of the stall.
Stall participants are required to note
Once an application form has been received and acknowledged in writing by email, availability will be checked, and we will aim to reserve the space on your chosen week. The booking will only be secured, upon receiving a confirmation email.
If it is necessary for you to cancel the space prior to the event, then it is the stall holder's responsibility to let us know in writing that the space will no longer be required with as much notice as possible.â¯You must have received an acknowledgement of this cancellation from us for this to be implemented.
No individual generators are allowed on site. A single power socket can be arranged and will be provided and managed by Coventry Christmas Market only for low power usage (no heaters).
Charity stall holders must have Public Liability Insurance with the minimum amount £5 million. Documentation must be provided to confirm this is in place.
Vehicle information
For the safety of our visitors, vehicles are not allowed on site after vehicle curfew at 10am (an hour before opening each day) and for the duration of the event. Once unloaded vehicles must be parked up in the designated parking areas and you must make your own provisions for carrying items off site if your area is closing earlier than the official closing time. Vehicles will be allowed back on site after 9pm.
Registration numbers
We require you to send your car/vehicle registration number to events@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:events@coventry.gov.uk] prior to your booked date.
Coventry Christmas market trading hours
- Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 8pm
- Friday and Saturday, 11am to 9pm
Goods prohibited from sale
There are items which are considered inappropriate for sale at the Christmas Market due to them being either illegal or against the community nature of the event.
We also are an environmentally aware event and as such prohibit short life items made from plastic (including plastic packaging), products made by exploited workers and items bought in to resell from multinationals or mainstream supermarkets.
The following items are not permitted to be sold at the Christmas Market: This list is non-exhaustive.
- cigarettes/vapours or any tobacco product
- alcohol or associated products. Providing this as prizes for tombolas is also not permitted
- firearms or explosives including BB guns, catapults and slingshots including toy guns.
- weapons including domestic knives.
- pornography
- counterfeit goods
- pirated media (includes DVDs)
- real fur
- new leather
Management withholds the right to shut down a site selling prohibited or illegal goods whether they are listed above or not.
Activities prohibited without prior notification and consent
Some activities are paid for with exclusive rights and in some cases a tender process has been administered so we do not allow the following activities when operating a charity stall.â¯The following lists some of these activities andâ¯is non-exhaustive:
- face painting
- any selling of hot or cold food and drink.â¯Any selling of ice-cream
- no licensable costumed characters i.e. Peppa Pig, Mickey Mouse without being licensed by official agents of the rights holders. Bespoke mascots for charities are allowed just not any regulated characters as costumed staff/volunteers, walkabout characters, etc
Management reserve the right to shut down a site/stall who is refusing to stop trading if asked to do so.
Other prohibitions:
- no political or religious literature is permitted
- no items with offensive wording is permitted for sale
- no face coverings can be sold on site
- no group participant can use any copyright material (i.e. costume characters) without the prior consent of the creator/author. Written proof will be required
Tombolas and licensing
Tombolas are permitted but no alcohol is to be given out as a prize.
No alcohol as prizes or any goods that are inappropriate. No bucket collections around the site are permitted but if you are collecting for Charity you are allowed to have a collection box for voluntary collection on your table/stall (subject to obtaining a street collection licence).
You will need to complete a Street Collection Licence application if you wish to collect for your charity [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/licensing-regulation/street-collection-licences].
Staffing and operation
- Charities are responsible for staffing and manning their stall throughout the full hours of operation
- Stallholders must ensure their stall remains attended and operational for the duration of their agreed booking
Health and safetyâ¯
- Traders must comply with the Health, Safety and Hygiene requirementsâ¯of Coventry City Council and the Christmas Market Safety staff.â¯Traders are not permitted to start trading until they have been givenâ¯the go ahead by the Event Safety team, following a Health and Safety Inspection
- H & Sâ¯risk assessmentsâ¯including fire risk assessment are required for all traders and should be returned with this form
- Any electrical equipment brought onto site must have a valid PAT test where applicable and be safe for use
- Traders are responsible for the removal and disposal of any waste
- An emergency access routeâ¯will be established into the Christmas Market site; thisâ¯must be always kept clear of traffic and obstacles
- Goods must be safe in terms of British Standards with kite marks
Fireâ¯safetyâ¯
- Fires.â¯No open fires or BBQs on the ground are allowed on site
- No petrol, diesel or gas generatorsâ¯will be permitted on site
- You are not permitted to smoke in any public enclosed spaces. For example, chalets and similar structures areâ¯classified as enclosed spaces
Health and safetyâ¯hazardsâ¯
- All working practices comply with the regulations as outlined in the Management of Health and Safety at Workâ¯Regulations 1999
- All working practices comply within the regulations as outlined in the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- All working practices comply with the regulations as outlined in the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- All working practices comply with the regulations as outlined in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992
If any of these rules are not followed, then you will be asked to leave the site. The decisions of site management is final.