17/08/2026
We all know Taylor Swift made headlines flying into Norwich for Radio 1's Big Weekend. But global icons finding their way to our neck of the woods is nothing new.
It is easy to forget just how significant Norwich has been on the world stage and what an important part of history this city and surrounding areas has played. Behind our famously preserved medieval streets lies a city that has welcomed some of the biggest names, often when we least expected it.
For example did you know about a visit from Muhammad Ali? Because he stopped traffic on our streets in 1971, drawing adoring crowds during a visit to promote, of all things, a local supermarket project. A few years earlier, in 1963, Beatlemania hit Norwich in full force when The Beatles played a chaotic, screaming set at the Grosvenor Rooms. One many locals remember fondly or sadly depending on if they got tickets for the iconic event. By 1967 it was Jimi Hendrix bringing his Experience to the tiny, but perfectly rock'n'roll underground venue The Orford Cellar on Red Lion Street, and in 1972 David Bowie arrived as Ziggy Stardust himself for two legendary shows at Norwich Theatre Royal.
And that's only music, Norfolk has also been of huge importance in times of war and global politics. In 1933, Albert Einstein fled N**i Germany and spent time living quietly in a small wooden holiday hut on Roughton Heath in North Norfolk, before sailing on to America. Charles Dickens visited the region many times, staying at the Royal Hotel and performing his own works, which captured the often heartbreaking poverty of the time, to packed crowds at St Andrew's Hall. Decades later, in 2000, Arthur Miller, best known for being married to Marilyn Monroe but who also stood his ground in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1956, returned to UEA to celebrate his eighty fifth birthday and receive an honorary degree, having also visited for the inaugural UEA Literary Festival back in 1991.
Then there's film and TV, Norfolk's coastline and cathedral have become a backdrop of choice for the silver screen. Dame Judi Dench filmed inside the stunning cloisters of Norwich Cathedral for Tulip Fever in 2014. Gwyneth Paltrow walked across the sand for the iconic final scene of Shakespeare in Love, filmed on Holkham Beach in 1998. And while many think Natalie Portman came to film in Norfolk for the Other Boleyn Girl, most of that filming took place in Kent. However she did still find time to visit us swapping Hollywood for the same stretch of coast to film the eerie outdoor scenes of Annihilation in 2016.
We have almost certainly missed a few obvious names. Who else do you know who has visited Norfolk and deserves a place on this list.
