Durham Miners' Gala

Durham Miners' Gala
Durham Miners Gala 2008 Old Elvet Bridge
Date(s)	Second Saturday in July
Location(s)	Durham
Inaugurated	1871 (1871)
Most recent	2016 (2016)
Attendance	100,000
Organised by	Durham Miners' Association
Website
durhamminers.org

The Durham Miners' Gala is a large annual gathering held on the second Saturday in July in the city of Durham, England. It is associated with the coal mining heritage (and particularly that of miners' trade unionism) of the Durham Coalfield, which stretched throughout the traditional County of Durham. It is also locally called "The Big Meeting" or "Durham Big Meeting". In the context of the Durham Miners' Gala, "gala" is usually pronounced /ˈgeɪlə/ rather than the more common pronunciation /ˈgɑːlə/.

Its highlight consists of banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched to the old Racecourse, where political speeches are delivered. In the afternoon a Miners' service is held in Durham Cathedral, which may include the blessing of any new banners.

The gala developed out of the miners' trade unionism, the first Union being established in 1869. The Durham Miners' Association organised the first Gala, which was held in 1871 in Wharton Park, Durham.

It developed into the largest unofficial miners and trade-union gathering in the United Kingdom. At its peak the Gala attracted more than 300,000 people – more than seven times the population of Durham itself.

Banners would traditionally be taken on foot from its particular colliery into Durham and the event was marked by large unions of men marching on the roads leading into the city.

The socialist, and often communist, nature of the miners' unionism found expression in the Gala. In particular the banners contain several images of notable socialist/communist figures and captions capture similar sentiments.

The Gala was cancelled from 1915–18 (because of the First World War), 1921, 1922 and 1926 (all because of strikes) and again from 1940–45 because of the Second World War. In 1926 however the Gala was held outside of Durham city, organised by miners in the village of Burnhope some 7 miles to the north of Durham itself, this marks the first and only time the Gala has been held in some place other than the city. 40,000 miners from across the county marched up the hill to the village to be addressed by A. J. Cook. The effect of the 1984–85 miners' strike, which saw miners across the Durham Coalfield strike, also led to the Gala being called off in 1984.