Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
On that day, fans around the universe carry a towel in his honour.
Tell us about events you organize on Towel Day, and we will announce them here.
On Towel Day, carry a towel. Where? Everywhere!
Proudly show the world you've observed Towel Day! Post for example a photo or video with your towel in the comments of the annual Towel Day post on the Towel Day Facebook page and enjoy other people's. Some alternatives are the Flickr group for pictures and of course YouTube for videos.
What is happening on Towel Day 2026?
This list is just starting and very incomplete. Know about any Towel Day events we should add? Please mail us!
ONLINE
Don't Panic Festival will be livestreamed here, with on Towel Day the unveiling of a blue plaque at the house where Douglas Adams started writing the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
Every year on Towel Day Lego and Legal publishes Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy themed Lego builds. We color="#00ff00">over the top, love it! Here's what they published for Towel Day 2025! For Towel Day 2026 they will add many improvements which might includes:
Arajan inspired scenes, some revisited wowbagging goodness (they made the Wowbagger scene once but it was a little basic), the gold bail of prosperity, the functional and somewhat unassuming Bistromath, and, last but the absolute most...................................................... a Towel!
Their 2026 post will appear here. Normally the theme of their Lego builds is legal subjects, not kidding! Kudos to Zarfster and his kids for roughly a decade of highly original tributes to Douglas Adams.
GERMANY
In Leipzig, the Towel Day festivities will run from 10:00 until 18:00. They're cohosted by INSPIRATA (a smallish nonprofit Science Center) in cooperation with
the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (aka German National Library) Leipzig & Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum (aka German Museum of Books and Writing.
A final program is in the works but there will definitely be public readings while sitting or lying on towels, a best-towel-competition, a don't-dare-to-laugh-at-Vogon-Poetry-session, tea, and other highlights.
Address: The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek is located at Deutscher Platz 1 and INSPIRATA at Deutscher Platz 4 (3. Floor, Entrance G).
More info coming soon!
UNITED KINGDOM
In Stalbridge, From 23 to 25 May, Don't Panic Festival takes place. It's a festival for imagination and Earth in the Town Where The Galaxy was born.
At Lydden Cottage, in Stalbridge, Douglas Adams began writing The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, in response to seeing
an historic building being demolished behind his home.
The inaugural Don't Panic Festival is a celebration of Douglas Adams' extraordinary global contribution to literature,
culture, technology, environmental thinking, of his life and of his legacy.
There will be events in the town, including a Vogon Poetry Jam, a Pan-Galactic cocktail competition and an evening open air cinema picnic, showing the Hitchhikers'
Guide To The Galaxy film. On Towel Day itself, Monday 25th of May 2026, a Douglas Adams themed fancy-dress parade will wind its way to Lydden
Cottage for the unveiling of a Blue Plaque, before celebrations continue at nearby Stalbridge Recreation Ground with music,
performances, storytelling, crafty science, environmental action, playful invention, food and drink.
Mark Carwardine will join the festival*, reliving the year he spent with Douglas, bringing
those stories of loss, humour & hope to new audiences. *Notwithstanding an environmental issue that may see him have
to be elsewhere.
Animator and film-maker Kevin Jon Davies, who worked with Douglas on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series, has confirmed that he will not be panicking on International Towel Day this year, as he will be present to give a talk based on his best-selling book: 42, The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams (Unbound, 2023).
This talk will uncover fresh gems from Kevin's personal archives, and give some real insight into what it was like to work and collaborate with Douglas.
Also appearing at Don't Panic: A visitor From the Future, environmental activist and author Rob Hopkins will
appear as a time-travelling reporter from 2030 - bringing news from an Earth that we have collectively saved. His hopeful,
imaginative approach offers an antidote to climate doom, particularly for young people.
The festival will be live streamed globally and interactively, to give the rest of the galaxy an opportunity to
participatein the festival.
Don't forget your towel and don't panic!
They rely upon grants and donations, and to help them make this festival all it can be in its inaugural year they'd love it if you could donate via their go-fund-me page. You can also become part of the Founding 42 Group of 42 individuals who will forever be enshrined in the Festival’s history.
Details and tickets here
Please help us build this list and mail us us about any Towel Day events we should add!
Want to organize a Towel Day event? Inspiration can be found in the Archives
The European Space Agency ESA says: Don't panic and always carry a towel!
Thank you for being part of this & always remember: DON'T PANIC
This site is not endorsed by or associated with the Douglas Adams Estate, systemtoolbox.com, kojv.net, ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, Pan MacMillan, Penguin Group, Hyperion Books, Flickr, YouTube or any other organisation.
It is run by a bunch of Douglas Adams loving ape descendants who thought it was a shame that this domain was parked, and bought it. They are not liable for any incorrect information - the information on this site is provided in good faith, but may be inaccurate. Don't panic.
info at towelday dot org
