Portsmouth Kite Festival 2026: a weekend in review

Southsea Common has just come off a big weekend. The Portsmouth International Kite Festival took over the seafront on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, running from 10am to 5pm each day, and it was free to attend and open to all ages. This year's edition carried a special theme, '100 Kites for 100 Years', as part of Portsmouth100, the city's centenary celebration of being granted city status by King George V back in 1926.

The sky did the heavy lifting. Hundreds of kites filled the air, from giant inflatables and artistic designs to precision flying displays put on by some of the UK's top kite flyers and international guests. The timetable ran roughly the same across both days: it opened with the Altitude Sprint, a race to get the highest kite in the air, followed by the Flying Fish dual line display and Carl Wright's kites flying to music. The sport and multi-line celebrations, featuring The Flying Squad, The Quad Mob, Jesse Kapsten, Carl Robertshaw and Chris Goff, came back around three times a day, and there were slots for art kites, dragon kites, kite trains and a session where the public could fly in the arena. It wound down with the ethereal Spirits, Angels and Doves flight and the Mega Team synchronised flight of four line kites before closing and prizes at 5pm.

Down on the ground there was plenty to keep people busy between flights. Free children's kite-making workshops, creative activities from Seekers Create and family sessions from BH Live sat alongside a visit from the library bus, a funfair, craft stalls, local traders, food and drink stalls and specialist kite traders. Live music from Live at the Bandstand ran throughout the weekend, with Katy Glover, The Duds, Cadency, Rewind and the Adam Ede Band on the Saturday, and The Woven Crows, Island City, The Ibiza Band, Mayley Bladford and The Boppers on the Sunday.

It was run with families in mind. There were water refill points, a dedicated space for breastfeeding parents and families, and welfare support for visitors with additional needs, including a quiet space away from the busier areas, provided by TTK Welfare, with event team members on hand to help. TTK is an event welfare and safeguarding company that grew out of Tiger Tea Kids, set up back in 2011 after event safety advisor Linda Krawecke noticed how many outdoor events lacked support for children and young people when parents weren't around.

Getting there was made easy. Southsea Common is reachable by foot, bike, bus and car, and the organisers asked people to walk, scoot, cycle or take public transport to keep congestion down. First Bus and Stagecoach ran free weekend travel throughout September, and the PR3 Park & Ride service turned up every twenty minutes on the Saturday and every ten on the Sunday, at £5 for up to five people travelling together. The whole thing sat within Portsmouth100, the city's year-long celebration of the century since it officially became a city on 21 April 1926, and Live at the Bandstand is one of the free music strands tied into that anniversary, with a run of shows across the summer funded and delivered by Portsmouth City Council and supported by The Wedgewood Rooms.