Action packed BeachFest event heads to Porthcawl

Bridgend County Borough Council is supporting an action-packed weekend of beach sports, family fun, lifeboat displays and more under the banner of BeachFest@Porthcawl, which also includes the return of RNLI’s RescueFest event for first time since 2019.

Sandy Bay (Coney Beach) will play host to the event on the weekend of 15 and 16 June and families will be able to get involved in the action with ‘have-a-go' sessions including Celtic Longboat rowing, circus skills and beach cricket. Elite competitions will also take place with teams arriving from across the UK to compete in beach volleyball, surf rowing, beach golf and more. 

The activities will extend into the evening on Saturday 15th June with beach flags and volleyball tournaments, plus a fire-show finale to ignite an exciting climax to the day’s events before festivities resume on Sunday 16th June.

The RNLI will be hosting exciting demonstrations, entertainment and fundraising activities with the return of its popular RescueFest event on Sunday 16th June, alongside a variety of music, games, entertainment, displays, demonstrations and market stalls throughout Porthcawl over the weekend.

Beach Academy Wales will also provide marine wildlife rescue workshops throughout the weekend, and the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer, the Waverly, will arrive in Porthcawl Harbour, allowing passengers time to enjoy the event.

The BeachFest event has something for everyone and once again highlights Porthcawl’s unique ability to host major tourism events which attract lots of visitors from all over the United Kingdom.

It’s also really pleasing to see the amount of collaboration and partnership work that has taken place as this helps to make sure that the event is as varied as possible to attract a wide range of visitors.

Events such as this are so important for the local economy and will offer a boost to local businesses who will be looking to capitalise on the large number of expected visitors to the area.

Cllr Neelo Farr, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economic Development and Housing

This project is funded by the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund. The fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

A schedule for the event is available on the Visit Bridgend website.