From cheese rolling to bagpiping - UK launches search for traditions that define our communities

5th December 2025

Communities invited to submit beloved traditions - from Highland dancing to Pancake Day - for recognition as UK living heritage.

First major step following UK ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

New inventory will celebrate cultural traditions and highlight their contribution to communities and the economy.

Communities across the UK are invited to submit their most treasured traditions to a new inventory of living heritage.

The UK-wide inventory will spark a national conversation about the crafts, customs and celebrations valued by communities, helping to safeguard them for future generations.

Living heritage encompasses practices passed down through generations - from tartan weaving and dry-stone walling to cèilidh dancing or Gloucestershire's cheese-rolling and Eisteddfodau or Burn's night suppers. It could also include traditions brought to the UK by immigrant communities, such as the Notting Hill Carnival and steel-drumming.

These practices play a vital role in community identity, pride and cohesion, building the foundations for the UK's growth.

Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross said:

From Highland Dancing to cheese rolling and the carving of Welsh love spoons these traditions form the rich tapestry of UK culture and identity.

These crafts, customs and celebrations are often what makes people feel proud of who they are, where they come from and where they live. They also boost local economies and businesses.

Whatever living heritage communities value, we want to hear about it. I encourage people to get together and share their traditions through this national conversation.

Latest research from Historic England shows that the heritage sector contributed over £15 billion to the economy in England in 2022. Our craft sector alone contributes thousands of jobs and over £400 million annually. For individual places, living heritage traditions can also be vital economic draws, such as the Ottery St Mary's tar barrels which attracts 20,000 visitors to the town annually.

The inventory will help to identify the economic value of our traditions, and support efforts to grow this area of national life.

As living heritage should only be recognised by the communities that practice it, these groups must be involved in any submission. Details on how to submit, including support and advice, can be found at www.livingheritage.unesco.org.uk. Submissions will be accepted over the next four months, with the aim of launching the first inventory next summer.

This follows the UK Government ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage last year and a public consultation to inform the development of this inventory.

Following this consultation, it was confirmed that submissions will be accepted under seven categories, which are:

Oral expressions
Performing Arts
Social Practices
Nature, Land and Spirituality
Crafts
Sports and Games
Culinary Practices

Submissions for the inventory must be completed by Friday 27 March 2026.

Details for how to submit are on the inventory website at www.livingheritage.unesco.org.uk

The UK wide inventory will be made up of four separate inventories of living heritage, one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - combining into a UK one.

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