Roses is here! 🌹
Thursday 30-04-2026 - 14:35
Everything you need to know before the start of Roses tomorrow, Friday 1st May.
The time is finally here… Roses begins tomorrow!
On Friday 1st May, Lancaster Uni campus will be bustling as we take on York University for the 60th birthday of Europe’s largest intervarsity tournament, Roses. And LUSU are proud to deliver a weekend to remember.
From Friday to Sunday, students from a variety of sports and clubs will go head-to-head with their rivals in York to see which university will lift the coveted Roses cup. From American Football to E-Sports, everyone is involved!
So, here’s everything you need to know in preparation for the big weekend.
Opening Ceremony
You can’t have Roses without an Opening Ceremony!
This is where we officially open the Roses tournament, with live club performances, music, celebrations, and of course the Opening Ceremony sport fixture. This year?
Men’s 1st Futsal.
Tickets are still on sale, so grab them quick. You won’t be able to watch the Opening Ceremony without one!
Finding your favourite fixtures
Over Roses weekend, there are a lot of fixtures for you to see. Like, a lot.
You can check out the full list of fixtures, times, and locations, here.
We’ll have leaflets containing all fixtures while you roam Roses. You can also check out the official Roses map here.
Roses Live
With so many fixtures, there’s no way you’ll get to see them all.
But don’t worry—that’s what Roses Live is for!
Thanks to the amazing and hard-working student media teams from York and Lancaster – Rose live is a hive of activity! Here, you’ll find live commentary on all your
fave fixtures, as well as streams and live points updates. Meaning you’ll never miss a thing.
We’re already in the lead!
Despite the fact that Roses weekend doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, a few of our fixtures have already happened.
Over the last few days, Rowing, Running, and Equestrian took Lancaster into an early lead: 27-3!
Keep your eyes on Roses Live for any more early fixtures.
Show your Lancaster pride!
And wear RED with our official Lancaster Roses 2026 merch.
Our Supporter Packs are the perfect way to show your support and for only £8.95 you get:
- Lancaster Official Roses T-Shirt
- 'I Am Lancaster' Tote Bag
- Lancaster Official Roses Bandana
- 'I Am Lancaster' Bang-Bang Sticks
Why not also grab yourself some ‘I am Lancaster’ sunglasses for just £3?
We’ll have an official merch stand operating throughout Roses with even more must-have merchandise for you to pick from, including much more, including temporary tattoos and our Limited 2026 CALM x Roses charity wristbands.
Our Charity Partner – CALM
Now that we mention it, let’s talk about our official 2026 charity partner for Roses 2026 – Campaign Against Living Miserably, aka CALM.
Throughout the weekend LUSU will be selling limited Roses 2026 x CALM wristbands from the Roses merch stand in the Roses Village, for just £2.
£1 from every single wristband will be donated directly to CALM. You get your limited-edition Roses 2026 memento, and you give back to a good cause too (good on you, you lovely bunch).
Not good enough for you? We also have lots of activity from the CALM team, and across our sports teams in the run up and during the event – our target? To raise £5k in donations, and currently, we’re smashing it (just like the current scores).
Check it out for yourself, and maybe even donate, here.
Celebrate Roses with Sugar
And the fun doesn’t end when the fixtures do.
Over the weekend, The Sugarhouse will be hosting special Roses Afterparties—so you can keep the party going long into the early hours of the morning.
For more information, you can check out Sugar’s Instagram post here.
We’ll see you on the other side of the weekend when we discover whether Lancaster can grab that amazing fifth win in a row!
Because Roses are what? RED!
