What's On: Crufts 2027, 4 to 7 March at the NEC

The biggest dog show in Britain comes back to Birmingham next spring. Crufts runs from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 March 2027 at the NEC, and the Royal Kennel Club, which runs it, describes a show in which more than 18,000 dogs compete for the Best in Show title. It is four days of judging, display rings and halls full of breeders, trade stands and dogs being groomed within an inch of their lives. For a dog owner it is also the one place where you can meet more than two hundred breeds in a single afternoon. Here is what is on, day by day, and what you need to know before you go.

The Rule to Know Before You Plan

Start with the thing that catches people out. Crufts is a show for the dogs taking part in it, not a day out for the family dog. The show's own travel page puts it plainly: only dogs invited by the Royal Kennel Club, plus assistance dogs, are allowed into the show itself. The schedule for 2026 spelt out what that means for an exhibitor: "Unfortunately only those dogs entered on each day are allowed access into the hall." An entry on Friday does not get a dog in on Saturday. The exception is assistance dogs. The Crufts tickets page says "Assistance dogs are permitted in the venue", and asks that they are registered, trained, kept on a lead and preferably wear a harness or coat that shows their role.

So if you are travelling to Birmingham with your own dog, plan for the hours you are inside the NEC. That means a friend or family member who stays with the dog, a sitter, or a hotel that allows dogs to be left in the room. Check that point before you book: neither of the two hotels we have assessed near the show allows it.

Four Days, Seven Groups

Every breed at Crufts belongs to one of seven groups, and each day of the show judges different ones. Check the day against the dog you most want to see. According to the show's own day pages, Thursday 4 March is Gundog day, Friday 5 March is Working and Pastoral, Saturday 6 March is Terrier and Hound, and Sunday 7 March is Utility and Toy. All breed rings start at 9am unless stated otherwise. The arena programmes for each day are still marked to be confirmed, and the show notes that all programmes are subject to change, so look again in the new year.

The winner of each group goes forward to Best in Show, which closes the show on the Sunday evening. In 2022 the Kennel Club announced that Channel 4 and More4 would carry more than sixteen hours of coverage, with Best in Show broadcast live on Channel 4 from 7pm to 9pm on the Sunday, and the main arena and obedience ring streamed daily on YouTube. The 2027 broadcast schedule has not been announced, so treat that as a guide to the shape of the weekend rather than a promise.

Beyond the Show Rings

Most visitors never sit through a full breed class, and they do not need to. The draw for anyone thinking about a new dog is Discover Dogs, where more than two hundred pedigree breeds are on stands grouped by type. You can talk to the owners and breeders, meet the dogs, and ask the questions that matter before you commit: how much grooming the coat needs, how the breed takes to training, and whether it suits the way you live. The page lists every breed's stand number, so you can plan a route rather than wander.

Then there is Scruffts, which the Royal Kennel Club calls "the nation's favourite competition exclusively for crossbreed dogs". It celebrates character, good behaviour and the bond between dog and owner, across four classes: Most Handsome Crossbreed Dog, Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch, Golden Oldie Crossbreed for dogs of eight and over, and a class for dogs holding a Good Citizen Dog Scheme certificate. The heats ran at dog shows around the country from April to September 2026, and the class winners go through to the semi-finals at Crufts 2027, with a place in the grand final at stake.

The What's On page also lists agility, flyball and freestyle heelwork to music among the competitions, plus the Good Citizen Dog Scheme training ring, which the show calls the UK's largest dog training programme, and an activities ring where owners can see what their own dog might take up next. The Crufts Hero Dog Awards celebrate dogs that have changed people's lives, and are usually the most moving part of the week.

A Show With a Long Memory

The show is named after Charles Cruft, who took over the management of the Allied Terrier Club show at the Royal Aquarium in 1886. The show's own history dates the first show held under the Cruft's name to 1891, at the Royal Agricultural Hall in Islington, with 2,437 entries across 36 breeds. Best in Show only arrived in 1928, when a greyhound called Primley Sceptre took the first title. After Charles Cruft died in 1938 his widow Emma ran the show, and she handed control to the Kennel Club, which held its first Cruft's in 1948. The show moved to the NEC for its centenary in 1991 and has been there since.

Getting There and Staying Nearby

The NEC sits beside the motorway network and its own railway station. The show's travel page says Birmingham International station is within walking distance of the halls, with direct trains from London, the North West and the West Midlands, and that from Birmingham Airport the free Air-Rail Link runs to the same station. By car it is the M6 and M42, satnav postcode B40 1NT. Parking is charged per day on arrival, from £13.95 for a car at the time of writing, and the NEC does not allow overnight stays in caravans or motorhomes.

Crufts' own travel page says there are plenty of hotels near the NEC and many take dogs, then tells you to double check that yours really does, because policies vary, especially on breed and size. Two we have assessed show why. The Holiday Inn Kenilworth, in Warwickshire to the south east of the NEC, holds a B on its Roch Dog review: dogs go to the bar, the restaurant, the lounge and the garden, there is no weight limit, two dogs can share a room and the fee is £20 per dog. In the city centre, the Hyatt Regency Birmingham holds a C on our review: dogs are welcome in the bar, restaurant and lounge, a bed and bowls are provided, and the charge is £60 a night. Neither allows a dog to be left alone in the room, so at either one, somebody stays with the dog while the rest of the party goes to the show.

Tickets

Tickets for 2027 are not yet on sale. The tickets page says they "will be available later this year", and you can sign up there to be told when they open. Prices and opening times for 2027 have not been published, so we will add them here when they are. In the meantime the dates are fixed: four days in March, seven groups, one Best in Show, and more than two hundred breeds waiting to be met.