Bonfire Night 2026: fireworks and bonfires along the South Coast

At a glance: the displays by date

Every event below is confirmed on its organiser’s own page, or on the official county or tourism listing where we say so. Weather can stop a display at short notice, so check the organiser on the day.

Further along the coast: for Kent, Surrey, Devon and Cornwall, from Broadstairs and Leeds Castle to Plymouth Hoe and Newquay, see our companion page on the ULTIMATE Regions Guide, Fireworks and bonfires: Dover to St Ives.

• Thu 29 Oct · HMS Sultan, Gosport · gates 5.30pm, fireworks 8.30pm
• Fri 30 Oct · Isfield & Little Horsted bonfire, near Uckfield
• Sat 31 Oct · Newick bonfire; Ewhurst & Staplecross bonfire
• Wed 4 Nov · Southsea Common, Portsmouth · site opens 4pm, display from 7pm
• Thu 5 Nov · Worthing Pier · fireworks 7.30pm · free
• Thu 5 Nov · Poole Quay · from 5pm, fireworks 8pm · free
• Thu 5 Nov · Yarmouth, Isle of Wight · torchlight procession from 6pm
• Thu 5 Nov · Lewes Bonfire · for residents; see the travel advice below
• Thu 5 & Fri 6 Nov · Leonardslee Wine Estate, near Horsham · fireworks 7.30pm
• Fri 6 Nov · Utilita Bowl, Southampton · gates 5.30pm
• Sat 7 Nov · County Ground, Hove · gates 5pm, display around 7pm
• Sat 7 Nov · Mayflower Park, Southampton · gates 4pm
• Sat 7 Nov · Littledown Centre, Bournemouth · displays at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm
• Sat 7 Nov · Robin Hill, Isle of Wight
• Sat 7 Nov · Edenbridge, Kent · procession 6.30pm, fireworks 8.30pm
• Sat 7 Nov · Chailey bonfire, near Lewes
• Sat 14 Nov (to be confirmed) · Rye Bonfire Pageant
• Sat 21 Nov · Barcombe bonfire, near Lewes

Fireworks and bonfires: Dover to St Ives →

Brighton & Hove: Fireworks Night at the County Ground

Brighton & Hove’s big public display is Fireworks Night at the 1st Central County Ground, the home of Sussex Cricket on Eaton Road in Hove (BN3 3AN), on Saturday 7 November 2026, run with Sixes at Sussex Cricket. Gates open at 5pm, live tribute acts start at 5.15pm, and the display begins at around 7pm.

Tickets must be bought in advance: none are sold on the gate. Standing tickets are £15 for adults and £12.50 for under-16s; reserved seats in the stands cost more, and there are tickets for the wheelchair-accessible areas. Several bus routes run close to the ground.

Preston Park: when we checked on 27 October, neither the funfair operator nor Brighton & Hove City Council had published a 2026 fireworks night in the park, so we haven’t listed one. We’ll add it here if it is announced.

Our advice: book early, as the club says it sells out every year, and walk or take the bus rather than drive into central Hove.

Tickets: Sussex Cricket →   Our guide to Hove →   The County Ground’s back story →

Lewes Bonfire, Thursday 5 November: a night for residents

On 5 November the town’s six independent bonfire societies march their torchlit processions through the streets and each lights its own bonfire and fireworks on its own fire site. It is not a council event, and the societies, the council, the police, the rail operator and the emergency services all ask the same thing of anyone who doesn’t live in the town: don’t travel to Lewes, and go to a display closer to home.

With 5 November on a Thursday this year, the organisers expect bigger crowds than usual. Because of the crowds, the narrow streets, the noise and the smoke, they say the night is not suitable for children, young families or dogs.

Trains: as in past years, trains are not expected to stop at Lewes or at Falmer, Cooksbridge, Glynde and Southease from 5pm on Thursday 5 November until the start of service on Friday 6 November. The last trains back from London Victoria to these stations leave at 3.24pm (to Eastbourne) and 3.54pm (to Ore), and the last trains out of Lewes include the 16:44 to Brighton. Check Southern’s journey planner on the day.

Roads: closures start at 4.45pm on Thursday 5 November, including the A27 at the Ashcombe Roundabout (A277 Brighton Road), the A275 Offham Road at the B2116, Kingston Road at Wellgreen Lane, and the A26 at Malling Street and at Church Lane. Parking restrictions begin at noon, and visitors are asked not to bring cars into the town. Roads reopen at about 2am, once the town has been cleared.

Our advice: if you don’t live in Lewes, watch the night from home on the Rocket FM live stream, which the council points to, and visit Lewes another day for the castle and the High Street.

Lewes District Council: travel information →   Southern (GTR): rail changes on 5 November →   Southern: journey planner →   Our guide to Lewes & Glyndebourne →

Worthing and the West Sussex coast

Worthing Pier: on Thursday 5 November 2026 the Worthing Lions let off their fireworks from the end of Worthing Pier at 7.30pm, in association with the Worthing Town Centre BID. It is free to watch from the promenade and the beach; the Lions collect donations in buckets on the night and online. Worthing is about 25 minutes west of Brighton by train, and the pier is a short walk from the station.

Littlehampton’s torchlight procession and seafront bonfire took place earlier this year, on Saturday 24 October. For Shoreham and Lancing, the nearest display we could confirm for 2026 is Worthing’s.

Worthing Lions: November fireworks →   Our Worthing guide →   Shoreham & Worthing →   West of Brighton →

Rye, Hastings, Eastbourne and the East Sussex coast

Rye Bonfire Pageant: the Rye & District Bonfire Society gives the date as Saturday 14 November 2026, still marked “to be confirmed”, with no route or times published when we checked. The society funds the night itself, with no public money, so look out for its collectors.

The Sussex bonfire season runs from September to late November, and several coastal towns have already had theirs this year: Eastbourne on Saturday 3 October, Hastings and Seaford on Saturday 17 October. East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service keeps the county’s list of society bonfires, and asks everyone to choose an organised display over fireworks at home.

Rye & District Bonfire Society →   East Sussex Fire & Rescue: the bonfire list →   Our guide to Rye →   East of Brighton →

Portsmouth, Gosport, Southampton and the Isle of Wight

Southsea Common, Portsmouth: the city’s display is on Wednesday 4 November 2026, with a Portsmouth100 theme for the city’s centenary. The site opens at 4pm with stalls, a funfair and hot food; the display is scheduled from 7pm and the event ends at 8pm. A welfare tent has a lost-child point, ear defenders and quiet seating. Roads around the Common, including Clarence Parade and Southsea Terrace, close from 6pm to 8pm, and the display won’t go ahead if weather warnings are in place.

HMS Sultan, Gosport: the Royal Navy base’s bonfire and fireworks night is on Thursday 29 October 2026. Gates open at 5.30pm, the bonfire is lit at 7.45pm and the 70th-anniversary fireworks go up at 8.30pm. Tickets from 26 October: £10 adults, £5 children aged 3 to 15, £25 for a family of four, under-3s free; parking (£5) must be booked in advance.

Utilita Bowl, Southampton: the fireworks spectacular at the cricket ground in West End is on Friday 6 November 2026, with a funfair, entertainment and food and drink. Gates open at 5.30pm, children under 5 go free, and parking is booked with your tickets.

Mayflower Park, Southampton: a large display over Southampton on Saturday 7 November 2026, raising money for Southampton Round Table, with street food, funfair rides and DJs. Gates open at 4pm. Tickets are sold in advance only, with none on the gate; children aged 5 to 15 are £7.

Isle of Wight: on Thursday 5 November Yarmouth’s torchlight procession, led by a samba band, sets off from the Square at 6pm before the beacon is lit and the fireworks begin. On Saturday 7 November the island hospice Mountbatten holds its Fireworks with Mountbatten night at Robin Hill near Newport, with live music; entry is £7.50 for adults, £5 for children aged 5 to 16 and £20 for a family, and drivers must also book a parking, park-and-ride or event-bus ticket.

Visit Portsmouth: Southsea fireworks →   HMS Sultan (Visit Hampshire listing) →   Utilita Bowl tickets →   Mayflower Park tickets →   Yarmouth Carnival →   Mountbatten: Robin Hill tickets →   Our guide to Southampton →   Crossing to the Isle of Wight →

Poole and Bournemouth

Poole Quay: free fireworks on Bonfire Night itself, Thursday 5 November 2026, with live music and family entertainment from 5pm and the display at 8pm. The tourism office suggests parking at the Dolphin Shopping Centre or Harbourside Park, as the Quay car parks fill and are slow to empty after the finale.

Bournemouth Fireworks, Littledown Centre (Chaseside, BH7 7DX): three displays in one night on Saturday 7 November 2026, at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm; the 7pm show is the quietest and the most popular with families. Fire performers, a funfair (rides paid separately) and live music fill the evening. Tickets are sold online and at the gate, where only cash is taken; advance tickets use a fast-track entrance.

Poole Tourism: November 5th fireworks →   Bournemouth Fireworks →

Inland: Horsham, the Weald and the Lewes villages

Leonardslee Wine Estate, Mannings Heath, near Horsham: Fireworks Night on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November 2026, 5pm to 9pm, with the fireworks at 7.30pm, live music from The Violet Jive and street food. General admission is £15 for adults and £7 for children aged 4 to 16; under-3s are free.

Edenbridge, Kent: the Edenbridge Bonfire Society’s torchlit carnival procession and fireworks are on Saturday 7 November 2026. Roads close from 6pm to 10pm, the procession starts at 6.30pm and the fireworks follow at 8.30pm.

The Lewes villages keep the Sussex bonfire tradition on a smaller scale. According to East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s list: Isfield & Little Horsted on Friday 30 October, Newick and Ewhurst & Staplecross on Saturday 31 October, Chailey on Saturday 7 November and Barcombe on Saturday 21 November.

Near Guildford, Godalming’s fireworks are on Friday 6 November, and in Tunbridge Wells the Round Table’s display in Dunorlan Park is on Saturday 7 November: both are on our Dover to St Ives page. For Crawley we found no 2026 public display confirmed on an organiser’s own page on 27 October.

Fireworks: Dover to St Ives →   Leonardslee Wine Estate: tickets →   Edenbridge Bonfire Society →   Ewhurst & Staplecross Bonfire Society →   Our guide to Horsham →   North & inland →

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