Arts by the Sea has revealed its full 2026 programme, featuring fire shows, live music, giant puppets, dance and free family activities in Bournemouth.
5th September 2026
Bournemouth’s Arts by the Sea Festival has revealed its full programme for 2026, bringing two days of spectacular outdoor performances, live music, dance, theatre and family creativity to the town centre.
Returning on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, the free festival will transform Bournemouth’s public spaces with everything from fire-breathing mechanical creatures and giant puppets to immersive theatre, contemporary dance and live music.
This year’s theme is ELEMENTAL, with artists exploring the forces of Earth, Water, Fire and Air - and some of the most memorable moments are expected to take place after dark.
The festival’s evening programme has become one of its biggest attractions, and 2026 looks set to continue that tradition.
Headlining the after-dark entertainment in the Lower Gardens will be Frequency Rider by Lords of Lightning, the sister company of Arcadia Spectacular. The performers use millions of volts of electricity to create a dramatic combination of lightning, movement, sound and music.
Festival visitors will also meet two extraordinary mechanical creations from interdisciplinary artist Paka the Uncredible.
Rusty the Horse will roam through the gardens as part of an interactive robotic double act, while Elsie the Dragon will bring smoke, fire and movement to the festival. With 36 individual body movements, the enormous animatronic dragon promises to be one of this year’s most photographed attractions.
Bournemouth’s own Steamship Circus will add to the atmosphere with choreographed fire and LED performances across both evenings.
The music programme will move through jazz, funk, reggae, Latin sounds, hip hop, drum and bass and community performance.
Friday’s entertainment will begin with a Festival Welcome before Freefall Collective bring their feel-good mix of dub, reggae, drum and bass and hip hop to Bournemouth.
Gugge 2000 will return with its energetic carnival-style brass and percussion, while the beautifully restored Centaur Stage - housed inside a vintage horsebox - will offer an unusual open-mic space for emerging performers.
The CJP Band will close Friday’s Bandstand programme with a lively blend of disco, soul, funk and jazz.
Saturday will see Bournemouth favourites Pachango bring Latin, reggae, funk and cumbia to the Bandstand. Lords of Veg Funk will combine music, comedy and audience participation in a wonderfully eccentric procession, followed by London group Zeñel and its distinctive fusion of jazz, electronic music, grime, afrobeats and future bass.
The programme will end with Earth, Wind and Choir, bringing Bournemouth’s Funky Little Choir together with The High Priestess of Pop for a playful performance designed to get the audience singing and dancing.
Evision Music Group’s AfroSounds System will also celebrate Bournemouth’s Afro and Caribbean music scene by showcasing emerging performers.
Beyond the music, the programme is filled with imaginative performances designed to appear in unexpected places.
Pirate Taxi by Pirates of the Carabina is an inventive circus production performed in, on and around a classic London black cab. Combining aerial performance, acrobatics, juggling and live music, it tells a joyful story inspired by migration, birds and the journeys that shape people’s lives.
FLOOD, a fully BSL-integrated production by Theatre Témoin, will invite audiences into a future world transformed by rising sea levels. Visitors will be given sound umbrellas as they move through an interactive story exploring climate change, community and our relationship with the ocean.
Hydropunk by Artizani will turn water conservation into a playful shared challenge. Families will need to work together to keep water travelling through an elaborate gravity-powered machine, combining engineering, creativity and environmental awareness.
Roots to Rise, created by choreographer Nandita Shankardass, will blend contemporary movement with Indian classical and folk dance. Following the intertwined journeys of three women, the outdoor production explores migration, resilience, belonging and our connection to the earth.
An ensemble from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will also present a specially created family concert, taking audiences on a musical journey across oceans, landscapes and skies. The programme will combine classical works by composers including Malcolm Arnold and Vaughan Williams with contemporary favourites from Disney’s Frozen.
An eight-foot puppet will gently make its way through the festival during Walk of the Dandelion by Luke Brown Company.
Sharing messages of kindness, resilience and hope, the performance will be accompanied by a free workshop where visitors can create woollen dandelions and contribute their own positive messages.
The Hide by Tilly Ingram Theatre will introduce audiences to G463, a disabled White-Tailed Eagle who inspired the performer’s love of birdwatching. The story-led experience encourages children and adults to become more curious about wildlife and the natural world around them.
Family creativity runs throughout this year’s programme.
Breakin’ Free, led by choreographer Hannah Malone and presented by Pavilion Dance South West, will bring together young participants from across the festival’s community events. After learning choreography inspired by the ELEMENTAL theme, the group will perform the completed piece during the main festival weekend.
Read by the Sea will celebrate the National Year of Reading with appearances from local poets and an open-mic session. Children and adults will be able to share their own work, read a favourite poem or simply listen.
Dorset charity The Story Works will host a drop-in storytelling experience, helping young visitors turn their ideas into original stories through words and pictures.
The Bournemouth & Poole College Takeover will place emerging local talent in the spotlight through photography, games, creative workshops, make-up, live music and pop-up performances led by students.
Ahead of the main festival, three Bite-Sized Festivals will bring free family activities into Bournemouth neighbourhoods.
The community programme visits Henry Brown Youth Centre in West Howe on Saturday 5 September, Bourne Community Hub on Sunday 6 September and Townsend Community Centre on Saturday 12 September.
Townsend is a new addition for 2026, widening access to the festival and giving more local families an opportunity to experience performances and creative activities closer to home.
Arts by the Sea takes place in Bournemouth town centre on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 2026.
The main festival is free and visitors do not need to book for its open-air performances and activities, although arriving early is recommended for the most popular shows. Some independently organised Fringe events may be ticketed.
Friday’s programme is expected to begin at around 5pm, with Saturday’s activities starting from approximately 10.30am and continuing into the evening.
With lightning-filled performances, fire-breathing creatures, live music and plenty of opportunities to join in, this year’s ELEMENTAL festival looks set to bring one of Bournemouth’s most colourful weekends of the year.
Click HERE for more information
Click HERE for the official programme
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