Bournemouth Friday Fireworks is a seasonal event at Bournemouth Pier, the town centre, over 36 days in July 2026.
When and where
It runs from Friday 24 July 2026 to Friday 28 August 2026, 36 days in all. Listed dates: Every Friday, 24 Jul – 28 Aug 2026, after dusk.
It is held at Bournemouth Pier in the town centre (BH2 5AA).
Tickets and entry
Entry is free. Individual elements inside a free event can still be ticketed, so check before building a day around one of them.
Before you go
Weather moves these more than any other kind of event, so check on the morning rather than the week before.
The 2026 series
Six consecutive Fridays: 24 and 31 July, then 7, 14, 21 and 28 August. The last of the six, on 28 August, lands on the August bank holiday, which makes it the one everybody turns out for. Each display is a short one, a few minutes of colour over the water rather than a bonfire-night set piece, and the weekly rhythm is the point of it.
Where they are fired from, and where to stand
They go up from the seafront just east of Bournemouth Pier and out over the sea, so anywhere with a clear line to the water between the pier and Boscombe sees the whole thing. The beach east of the pier is the closest you will get. The pier approach frames the lit pier against the display. The East Cliff gives you the raised view along the bay.
On the night
Ten o’clock is the scheduled time, and arriving between nine and half past leaves room to park, pick a spot and watch the light go. Wind and sea conditions can postpone a display on safety grounds at short notice, and that call is made close to the time. From the station and the town centre it is about ten minutes on foot, downhill through the gardens. Driving is the weak option: the car parks are full on a warm Friday and then empty in one go the moment the last shell burns out.
What else is on
The events calendar lists every dated event across the bay, and the map shows how the venues sit relative to each other.
Dates & times
- Every Friday, 24 Jul – 28 Aug 2026, after dusk