Every year, Victorious Festival brings some of the biggest and best-loved acts to Southsea Common for an August Bank Holiday weekend to remember. Previous headliners have included massive names like Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon, The Prodigy and Sam Fender, and this year's line-up involves a similar cast of luminaries - with Richard Ashcroft and the Black Keys being welcomed to the festival for the first time, along with returning headliners Kasabian, who put in a show for the ages back in 2023.
The afternoon special guests for 2026 are Rudimental, Dizzee Rascal and Sigrid, whilst the rest of the line-up includes big hitters like Faithless, The Streets, Basement Jaxx, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Bastille, Scissor Sisters, Kelis and Jessie J, as well as a packed programme of up-and-coming acts across more than 10 separate stages.
Outside of the big names there's also an abundance of family entertainment in the packed-out Kids Arena. Youngsters can enjoy interactive games, hands-on activities from a host of local organisations, and guest appearances from the likes of Fireman Sam, Bluey and Supertato.
Elsewhere there's the best festival views money can buy over at the Bandstand Stage (sponsored by Wightlink), top DJs playing inside Southsea Castle (rebranded Henry's House for the weekend), and a chance to take it right back with - new for 2026 - the Little Johnny Russels pop-up.
Final tickets (with a discount available for kids/family entry thanks to the ongoing Great British Summer Savings scheme) are available online.
Planning to make the journey to Portsmouth for the August bank holiday - either to come to Victorious Festival or simply enjoy everything else that the city has to offer across the long weekend? Here's everything else you'll need to know.
Key dates
Victorious Festival itself will run from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August. The site on Southsea Common will shut to the public at 8am on Thursday 27 August to allow the police to complete the final checks they need to undertake.
Build work on the festival has already begun, so anyone visiting Southsea Common through August may notice additional movement around the area or even see some of the stages fully installed (note: the festival construction team consistently adheres to a strict health and safety policy, and a dedicated team is stationed on site to monitor vehicle speed, ensuring the safety of everyone accessing the area). Work on the de-rig begins early on the bank holiday Monday, with the site re-opened first thing so that visitors can enjoy the whole of Southsea Common from 8am that morning.
Road closures
Some roads immediately around the festival site need to be closed for short periods to allow safe egress at the end of each day. Many of these are residential streets so the closures won't affect most visitors coming into the city for the bank holiday weekend but not attending Victorious Festival.
Closures will be in place for vehicular traffic per the map below, from 10.30pm to 11.59pm each night the festival is running. Anyone living or staying within one of the closed roads will still be allowed access, but may be asked to wait until it's safe to do so. Emergency access within the closed areas will be available at all times via traffic marshals.
For more detailed information on road closures throughout the weekend, head to the Portsmouth City Council website.
What else is there to do?
Not coming down for Victorious Festival but still want to enjoy a summer bank holiday by the coast? Or maybe you only have tickets for some days and want to pack the others with the best things to do in Portsmouth? You're in luck - as the city will be largely business as usual throughout the weekend.
Though they may be in the immediate vicinity of the festival site, the likes of South Parade Pier, Clarence Pier and the Pyramids Centre will all be open as usual. You don’t need a festival ticket to get to them and you can still reach them by foot or vehicle around the edge of the Victorious Festival perimeter.
The same goes for places to eat and drink on Southsea Seafront. The Briny, Southsea Beach Café, Coffee Cup and the range available on South Parade Pier, for example, are open all weekend long - whether you're avoiding the festival altogether or getting some food to fortify you for a day of dancing!
The festival allows re-entry until 8pm, so whilst there's much to enjoy from the Neighbourhood Eats inside, festivalgoers do still have the opportunity to grab a bite or a drink from the many cafés and restaurants located just outside the festival site.
As for places to visit, although much of Southsea Common itself will be taken up by the festival there are still acres of open spaces to enjoy.
The beaches both east and west of the festival site will be open as usual, and expected to be very popular with visitors if the warm weather holds. Likewise, huge swathes of the newly opened promenade - transformed as part of the Southsea Coastal Scheme - will be open for stunning seafront walks.
And, of course, it's not just those places just around the festival which will be welcoming visitors - all of Portsmouth's attractions are open for business. Head to the Hotwalls Studios to see artists at work, venture across to Gunwharf Quays for some outlet shopping or to head up the Spinnaker Tower, or take in centuries of naval history at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where one ticket gets you entry to HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose and lots more besides.
As for attractions within the site, The D-Day Story, Southsea Castle and Southsea Skatepark all fall within the festival boundary, so will be closed on Thursday 27 August and open to Victorious festivalgoers only on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will re-open as normal after the festival.
Victorious in the Community
It's important to end this blog with a nod to the work that Victorious Festival does in the community - not just when the crowds arrive in their thousands, but all year round.
Since its inception, Victorious Festival has supported the local community - putting thousands of work hours and nearly £1million into worthwhile local projects. This is in addition to the many millions of pounds the event brings in to the local economy with people visiting from all over to enjoy the festivities.
There's information on our Victorious Festival in numbers blog.
But did you know: the Victorious in the Community initiative has so far donated £926,370 to more than 140 good causes, and supported 155 local events since 2014? The team has also donated both support and physical infrastructure to other events you may have attended in Portsmouth, including just this year alone Southsea Food Festival and This New Ground at Aspex.
Victorious in the Community has also greatly supported the Portsmouth100 celebrations, as we celebrate a centenary of city status throughout 2026. This has taken the form of sponsoring a lion for the Pride of Portsmouth art trail, and enlisting the team working to organise Victorious Festival to step away from their desks and hand-paint the P100 logo at Southsea Bandstand, to create a fitting backdrop to the celebrations. There was also a festival slot awarded to the 100th band to perform at this year's Live at the Bandstand, whilst scores of freebies (including tickets) were given away in an Easter Egg Hunt extravaganza earlier this year.
Looking ahead, the team is also supporting Portsmouth's bid to become the UK City of Culture 2029 - for which we are currently awaiting the verdict on whether we have made the shortlist.
If you need any more information about the event, the off-site camping, travel arrangements, or to get last-minute tickets, the Victorious Festival website has all you need - including a handy FAQs section. Or, to plan your bank holiday getaway to the Great Waterfront City, Visit Portsmouth has all the details you need on things to do, what's on and where to eat.
