Bournemouth's seafront has just come off the back of its biggest weekend of the year. Arts by the Sea returned for its 16th edition on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, taking over Bandstand Field, the Lower Gardens and Pier Approach for two days of free, family-friendly programming. This year's theme was 'ELEMENTAL', built around earth, water, fire and air, with creativity framed as a catalyst for positive change. The festival is directed by Andrea Francis, part-funded and delivered by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, and has been an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation since 2015.
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The headline attraction was Elsie the Dragon, the towering mechanical creature brought in by Paka the Uncredible, capable of 36 distinct body movements and bursts of fire and smoke. Sharing the bill was Lords of Lightning, the New Zealand act created by Carlos Van Camp, where performers harness more than four million volts through giant Tesla coils to make music. Bournemouth's own Steamship Circus also returned with a fiery outdoor performance.
Saturday daytime filled the seafront with a wide range of installations and performances. Hydropunk gave people something to get hands-on with, Dorset charity The Story Works ran storytelling sessions, and Theatre Témoin staged FLOOD, a BSL-integrated piece about rising sea levels. The Hide offered a reflective birdwatching space inspired by a disabled white-tailed eagle, while the Walk of the Dandelion, an eight-foot-tall roaming puppet, wandered the site. Families sang along with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which took the audience on a journey through oceans and landscapes that included pieces from Frozen, and the music line-up ran from Pachango at the Bandstand to Lords of Veg Funk and AfroSounds System, before the evening closed with Earth, Wind and Choir, featuring the Funky Little Choir and The High Priestess of Pop.
If you missed the main weekend, there is still plenty to catch. The Arts by the Sea Fringe runs from Sunday 27 September to 11 October, its second edition, with music, theatre, comedy, exhibitions and workshops spread across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It is put together in collaboration with We Broke Free, and the programme carries on well into October, so it is the natural place to pick up where the weekend left off.
For anyone planning to head down, it is worth knowing how the site is set up. The main festival locations are around Bandstand Field, the Lower Gardens and Pier Approach, postcode BH2 5AA. Accessibility is built in, with a Changing Places toilet in the Lower Gardens near the Bandstand area (available with a companion), seats at some performances and noise-cancelling headphones at the Lower Gardens Information Point. The festival is free, though some Fringe events carry an entry fee, and everything is outdoors, so it goes ahead in safe conditions even when the weather turns. The 2026 Artist in Residence is Lost Lines, and the festival keeps pushing sustainability, from encouraging travel by train, bus or bike to a 20% discount on hot drinks when you bring a reusable cup to BCP seafront catering outlets.
Published Date
28 September 2026
