Jane's Midlife Journey

Bourne Free is Bournemouth’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration. I lived in Bournemouth for several years before actually going to Bourne Free, mainly because I used to live in London, where the Pride Parade is so massive that I felt that anything else could only be an anti climax.

Bourne Free consists of various events over one weekend. in 2026, the format changed slightly from previous years. On Friday, there is an adult only Opening Party. On Saturday, there is a Parade through Bournemouth, culminating in a Festival at Meyrick Park. Then on Sunday, moved from the former Friday, slot is Family Fun Day

Each year, the festival used to adopt a theme. In 2022, the theme was Bourne Free goes Green with a focus on being environmentally friendly. To keep with that ethos, the parade was pedestrian only. In 2023, the theme was Pride without Prejudice and diesel was no longer taboo. In 2024, the theme was initially Eurovision. This was dropped last minute due to the Eurovision Song Contest’s decision not to remove Israel from the competition. Since then, organisers appear to be playing it safe and omitting the theme.

How to Get to Bourne Free

The Family Fun Night and the main festival take place in Meyrick Park, which is just to the north of Bournemouth town centre. By bus, alight at Bournemouth Square and walk up through the Gardens, turning right by the Town Hall, then walk alongside the park until you reach the entrance (or the start of the queue).

The normal parade route runs through Bournemouth, starting on the East Cliff, then up through the town centre ending at Meyrick Park. In 2026, due to ongoing construction work, the parade started on the West Cliff and made its way to Meyrick Park via the Triangle.

Parking

Not the easiest place to park. The north of the park is lined with residential streets, where you might stumble upon a space. Parking near the venue is restricted to those with a disability.

Dates

The event takes place annually over a weekend in July. The 2026 dates

• In 2026, the dates were 10th – 12th July
• 2027 dates TBA

• Friday – Opening Party from 5 pm until 10 pm
• Saturday – Parade at 11 am
• Saturday – Festival from 12 pm until 10.30 pm (theoretically, although it depends on how long it takes for the parade to arrive)
• Sunday – Family Fun Day from 11 am until 4 pm

Price

• Friday – £15 (adults only)
• The parade is free to watch/join
• The main festival costs £26 for adults. Booking in advance will possibly reduce the amount of time you need to queue upon arrival. Children are free, but must leave the site by 7 pm. Tickets can be obtained here.
• Family Fun Day is a free, ticketed event – to ensure entry, you can book online in advance.

Bourne Free Parade

The Parade normally starts on the East Cliff at 11 am on Saturday, then follows a route through central Bournemouth finishing in Meyrick Park. Theoretically, this should take around an hour. Spectators are advised to head to Westover Road for the best view. 

Pride in the Park

The main Bourne Free event, Pride in the Park, moved to Meyrick Park from the centre of Bournemouth in 2022. Although it’s great to be in such a glorious location with loads of space, there were a few teething problems. There was only one entrance; at the top end of the park, the furthest point from the town centre, which required a long walk up the hill. The queue to get in was enormous. Those who had paid in advance, but needed to collect a wristband and people who hadn’t bought a ticket yet, all queued together in a very long line. People were complaining on social media that they had to queue for up to two hours!

Once finally inside, I met up with some friends. As we’re all getting on a bit, we came prepared with chairs and settled down in front of the stage to enjoy the entertainment.

It was very hot and although rhere was free water, it was dispensed from tanks placed in the sun, so was very warm. Hence, the only way to keep cool was to drink cider. (Note: This isn’t strictly true, they did sell soft drinks at the bar, but they were £2 a can. My logic is that if I’m going to have to pay a lot for a drink, it might as well be cider!) Organiser addressed this issue in 2023 by introducing a Shade Tent – perfect for sheltering from the torrential rain! And allowing guests to bring their own less tepid water.

Most of the acts came courtesy of a scour through the back catalogue of either Britain’s Got Talent or The X Factor, neither of which I have watched for many years.

The 2022 highlight was Anthony Costa from boy band Blue, who delighted the audience (well certainly my section of the audience – straight middle aged ladies) singing his way through a back catalogue of Blue’s top hits. After the performance, he came to the front of the stage for a meet and greet and spent a long time chatting to fans and posing for selfies. Much to our excitement! The main attraction for 2025 is another member of a popular noughties group; Bradley from S Club 7.

In addition to the music stage, there are plenty of other things to do. There are fairground rides, food stalls and stalls selling things or handing out freebies – mainly rainbow stickers. I got a tea towel with instructions on how to put out a fire from a rainbow fire engine.

The afternoon progressed with a succession of singers and dancers and drag queens. And cider! There were sporadic issues at the bar, where the tills kept losing the ability to take card payments. Every now and again, they became cash only and people who actually had cash were ushered to the front of the queue.

Despite not being in the same league as London’s Pride, we had a great day out with great entertainment, a wonderful atmosphere, and did I mention the cider?

When I wrote the above paragraph in 2022, I ended with the words “I shall definitely be back next year”. In actual fact, the weather for the 2023 was absolutely atrocious and it peed down with rain for much of the day. In addition, the headline act was East 17. With a string of hits in the 90s, this aging boy band is after my time. In 2024, more terrible weather and the headliner was Katrina (formerly of Katrina and the Waves). I decided neither of these warranted spending £20 to get soaked to the skin in a field. In 2025, the weather was glorious. But in a packed weekend of events, I had tickets to the the sand polo. In 2026 the weather was sweltering but Kerry Katona!? Bring on 2027…

Family Fun Day

The free Family Fun Day of entertainment includes a programme of live music plus story telling and an inclusive church service.

Bourne Free for Children

On Saturday, children will enjoy watching the colourful parade.

Children may attend the festival during the day, but must leave the site by 7 pm. Note: It can be quite loud and there is very limited shelter. If you’re taking small children, ear defenders and a parasol are probably a good idea.

As mentioned above, Sunday is Family Fun Day, when it’s all about the kids, with a range of activities to keep them entertained. There are fairground rides, face painting and family friendly entertainment.

• Updated: July 2026

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.

For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth with young children, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth with Babies and Toddlers here.