Bongo's Bingo brings a spooky Halloween to Bournemouth

If you are looking for a group plan for October, Bongo's Bingo is bringing its Halloween special to Bournemouth. The show, titled 'Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun', lands at the O2 Academy Bournemouth next month, and it is less a quiet night of bingo and more a full-scale rave with a spooky twist. The Halloween-themed shows run on Saturday 24 October and Friday 30 October, with the tour continuing on Friday 6 and Friday 13 November.

For anyone who has not been, the format is what has made Bongo's Bingo a name over the last decade. It turns a traditional bingo night on its head, mixing the game with rave rounds, dance-offs and a lot of audience participation. The Halloween version keeps that structure but swaps the usual soundtrack for spooky-season music, with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' among the tracks, and adds a layer of Halloween surprises to the mix. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged, which is a big part of the appeal — the organisers have made it clear they love seeing how creative people get with their outfits.

The prizes are where things get properly ridiculous. Instead of the usual cash or hampers, Bongo's is known for handing out giant pink unicorns, Henry Hoovers — including a limited edition pink neon unit made by Numatic — mobility scooters, hard cash and giant inflatable wacky wavers, alongside plenty of tricks and treats. It is that mix of bingo, dance-offs, rave rounds and absurd prizes that has turned the night into what they call a 'Spooky Rave'.

On timings, the doors open at 7:00pm, last entry is at 8:00pm and the first game of bingo gets going at 8:30pm, so there is time to settle in before the first ball drops. The O2 Academy Bournemouth sits at 570 Christchurch Road in Boscombe, BH1 4BH. The show is pitched as suitable for all ages, from 18-year-olds right up to 92, which makes it an easy one to round a mixed group around for an October night out.

Co-founder Jonny Bongo has been open about how much the team loves the Halloween theme, noting that it is one of their favourites because of how creative everyone gets with their outfits. He said they will be packing their shows across the UK with their usual relentless bingo energy and a bit of spine-tingling terror for good measure, and that these nights are always amazing fun. The 2026 Halloween tour is a big one, with dates at 47 venues across the UK throughout October, including Liverpool, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Norwich and Brighton, with the main Halloween weekend falling on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October.

Bongo's Bingo itself has come a long way since Joshua Burke and Jonny Lacey started it in Liverpool back in April 2015, and it has since grown into a worldwide operation with nights in Dubai and Australia. Over the years it has handed out more than 5,000 Henry hoovers as prizes, so the tradition of giving away something slightly surreal is well established. Tickets and full details are on the Bongo's Bingo website, bongosbingo.co.uk.