One of the least expected and most surprising annual events to be held in Pompey is back for 2025, and it’s the Portsmouth International Kite Festival.
On the 12th & 13th September 2026, between 10am and 5:00pm, the skies around Southsea Common will be full of kites of all shapes and sizes. And I do mean all shapes and sizes. It’s completely free to attend, so if you are curious but unsure, there is nothing to lose by just showing up and having a mooch around.
As usual, the event is being jointly organised by Portsmouth City Council and The Kite Society of Great Britain, and they have all sorts of entertainment and activities planned for you.
The Common will be split into arenas, with a continuous timetable of events going on in the main arena and more free flowing displays in other arenas. The main arena is where you will see tricks, kite ‘ballet’ routines to music, and displays by some of the most skilled kite fliers.
Craft stalls, refreshments, a free children’s kite making workshop, and local amusements like inflatables, live music, and kids rides will be running too, and traders will be set up to sell kites and kite making equipment if you get the bug.
The Kite Festival is internationally recognised as one of the best of its kind in the entire world, with the weather around our town creating perfect conditions for kite flying, so this is genuinely quite a big deal and always goes down a treat.
The Theme is 100 Kites
Every year the festival has a theme, and for 2026, that theme is 100 Kites to celebrate 100 years.
What does this mean? Well, Portsmouth became a city 100 years ago in 1926, so this year’s theme has been chosen to celebrate the centenary. The kite enthusiasts who attend will make kites especially for this festival, so they will design and build their kites to fit the theme. This means you will see all sorts of Portsmouth themed kites in the skies.
These kites will be special too. The Portsmouth Kite Festival attracts kite fliers from all over the world, and they don’t travel all this way to mess about. Some of these people are the very best at what they do, and their kites will be awesome to watch.
There are prizes awarded for the best kites in different categories too, so the kite builders and fliers will be in competition with each other for those.
It really is a unique and wonderful event, you certainly don’t need to be a kite fan to enjoy it, so get yourself along and see what it’s all about. Well behaved dogs are welcome, too!