Portsmouth's centenary year has been running since the start of 2026, and the fireworks on Southsea Common are the event that brings the Portsmouth100 programme to a close. This year's display is on Wednesday 4 November, which is a couple of weeks away from today. Free to attend, it's a good option if you want an evening out with the family without buying tickets.
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The site opens at 4pm with family entertainment, so there's plenty to do before dark. A night market and funfair rides are set up on the Common, alongside the return of the Live at the Bandstand stage, promoted by Casemates. Batala Portsmouth will be drumming, and street performers including stilt walkers and hula hoopers will be moving around the crowd. The fireworks are scheduled from 7pm, weather permitting, and finish at 8pm. The music running through the show covers the last hundred years, which suits a celebration of the city's age.
The centenary itself refers to Portsmouth becoming a city in 1926, when King George V granted it that status. Portsmouth100 has been filling the calendar with events all year, from heritage days and sporting occasions to arts festivals, and the November display is the one that ends the programme on Southsea Common. For many people in the city, the Common is simply the familiar open space by the seafront, but its history is closely tied to the military. In the early nineteenth century it was kept clear to give the harbour defences a clean line of fire against enemy ships approaching Portsmouth and its dockyard. The land was bought from the War Department in 1922, and some of the mature trees you'll see there date from 1910.
The organisers have set up the practical side of the evening with families in mind. There are toilets and first aid on site, a visitor information point, and a welfare tent with a lost child point and a lost and found service. Ear defenders are available for anyone who finds the bangs overwhelming, and there is a quiet seating area for a break from the noise. Since the display is set for a Wednesday evening, it's worth checking the official Portsmouth100 pages closer to the date for any last-minute updates, especially as the start time depends on the weather.
Whether you go for the music, the funfair or simply the fireworks over the sea, the November display offers a free evening that marks a hundred years of Portsmouth as a city.
Published Date
21 October 2026
