Activities continue, and plans are coming together for a number of events in 2026.

ANZAC Day

• The Anzac Day Commemoration is on Sunday 26 April 2026 at 1pm, at the Stonefall War Graves Cemetery in Harrogate. Maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this is one of the largest CWGC sites in the North of England.
• Buried at Stonefall are 97 Royal Australian Air Force crew, and 23 Royal New Zealand Air Force crew – four of whom came from Wellington, Harrogate’s sister city. There are also over 660 Canadian aircrew, one of whom came from Barrie, Ontario, which is also twinned with Harrogate. After the second world war, visitors came to Harrogate to visit their war dead, and one couple moved permanently from New Zealand to Harrogate to be near their son. The links which grew then remain important today.
• The ANZAC Commemoration in Harrogate is now organised by a separate Charitable Organisation which has been formed to take the Commemoration forward. www.anzacremembrancecio.org 

City of Barrie

• Along with our friends in Harrogate’s twin of Barrie in Ontario, we will be marking Sir Robert Barrie Day on 7 June 2026, and Canada Day 1 July 2026. Sir Robert Barrie – after whom Barrie is named – has local connections and is buried in Ripley, just north of Harrogate.

Bagnères de Luchon

• For Luchon, this year we are pursuing sporting themes, given the growing importance of health and wellbeing. Our attention is focussing on fell running and cycling.

• Luchon is once again holding its annual Aneto Trail festival of mountain running races, with numerous events over three days from 3 to 5 July 2026. Plans are well advanced for HIP/Harrogate representation with sponsorship and the team in place – more details on this will follow later. The Aneto Trail has grown rapidly and is now one of the most prestigious races in Europe – places sold out within 2 hours. The festival itself includes family and children’s races too. The video on this link gives a taste of the incredible landscape which defines the festival and the routes. https://en.luchonanetotrail.fr/

• As regards cycling, Luchon is one of the most frequently visited and historic towns for stage starts and finishes in Tour de France history, and is the cornerstone of many of the famous ‘climbs’ in the Pyrenees. On 13 September 2026 the ‘Cyclo Sportif’ features the incredibly demanding climb up to Superbagnères which in 2025 saw a stage finish at the very top of the climb. We are seeking to recruit a team of 6 cyclists well-qualified to represent HIP.

Town signs and other initiatives

• We are also continuing to work on some longer term initiatives, including town signs on each of the main roads approaching the town, which will welcome visitors and mention the twinning locations. Previous signs deteriorated and disappeared long ago, and seem to have not mentioned the twin towns. This has been a long term project for HIP, and will raise visibility of our twinning arrangements for visitors and residents alike, and hopefully will come to fruition before long.

• We will continue our efforts in exploring opportunities for vocational training exchanges, notwithstanding the complexity of current regulations which affect such arrangements.

Watch this space for further news as plans develop…!