Swanage Carnival

Carnival activities take place throughout Swanage and include a number of local outlets as hosts, but most live music and entertainment takes place on the Showground and in the Carnival Marquee, which is located on Sandpit field (commonly referred to as the Carnival field).

The event itself is completely FREE, with no costs for watching the entertainment or live music, however there are entry fees to take part in some of the activities. There is live music on all 8 days of the event, with local bands showcasing during the day, and internationally recognized tribute bands performing in the evenings.

Swange Carnival is a completely self funded event organised by volunteers and is proud to give away thousands of £’s to local charities and good causes every year.

This year the Carnival will take place from Saturday 26th July til Saturday 2nd August. One of the key highlights this year is the famous Red Arrows, who will be kicking off the Carnival on Saturday 26th July at 11.30am. There’s plenty of entertainment lined up throughout the week, including live music, fireworks displays, air shows, competitions, sporting events and so much more. The full programme of events is ONLY available in our programme before the event. Programmes are available to pre-order now here: Swanage Carnival Programme 2025 – Swanage Carnival and will be distributed at the beginning of July.