No council fireworks are planned for Bournemouth on 31 December. The Pavilion's gala dinner is £86; the Regent shows Dirty Dancing, then London's fireworks.

Is there a New Year’s Eve fireworks display in Bournemouth? Not one run by the council. BCP Council’s fireworks contract covers the summer Friday displays in Bournemouth, the Thursday displays in Poole and the 5 November show on Poole Quay, and nothing on 31 December. No organiser has announced a public display for New Year’s Eve 2026, and we will update this page if one does.

What the town does have on Thursday 31 December is a sit-down party at the Pavilion, a cinema countdown in Christchurch, two panto matinees, and the Christmas market’s last day.

Is there a fireworks display at midnight?

The council’s published contract with its fireworks supplier, signed on 2 July 2025, lists the events it pays for: “Bournemouth Friday Night Fireworks, Poole Thursday Fireworks and Poole Quay’s 5th November Firework night.” There is no New Year’s Eve show in that list.

Poole Tourism’s page for New Year’s Eve suggests a hotel stay, a meal and the Poole Quay bath race the next morning. It does not mention fireworks either.

Hotels and bars sometimes set off their own, but none has published one for this year. If you want a firework countdown, the Regent in Christchurch is showing the London display live on its big screen at midnight (below).

Bournemouth Pavilion: New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner Dance

The biggest ticketed night in the town centre is in the Pavilion Ballroom on Westover Road, according to the theatre’s own listing:

  • Thursday 31 December, 6.30pm, Bournemouth Pavilion Ballroom, BH1 2BU.
  • £86 a ticket, and it is 18 and over.
  • A welcome drink, then a four-course dinner served at 7.30pm, with coffee and petit fours. The menu is a PDF on the event page; anyone with extra dietary needs is asked to contact the venue before booking.
  • Music from The Boogie Bumpers, a seven-piece swing and jive band, then a DJ through to the new year. The DJ is still listed as “more information coming soon”.
  • Dress code is smart casual.

The listing gives no finishing time.

The Regent, Christchurch: Dirty Dancing and the countdown

The Regent on Christchurch High Street has a New Year’s Eve screening of Dirty Dancing at 9.45pm on Thursday 31 December. Tickets are £19 to £20, and a £5 VIP upgrade adds a glass of prosecco and popcorn. The film runs 1 hour 40 minutes and is a 12A.

As the film ends, the cinema switches to the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, shown live at midnight, so the room counts down to 2027 together. Fancy dress is optional, the Regent says, “but we’d thoroughly recommend it”.

Earlier in the day

  • Aladdin at the Pavilion plays at 11am and 3pm on 31 December, with no evening show. There is no performance on New Year’s Day; it returns on Saturday 2 January. Times, prices and the relaxed performances are on our Bournemouth panto page.
  • The Christmas market’s stalls close for the season on 31 December, according to Christmas in Bournemouth. The ice rink, light trail and Alpine Lodge carry on to 3 January. The operator gives the Alpine Lodge’s hours as 11am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and has not said whether it stays open later for New Year’s Eve. Our Christmas market page has the rest.
  • Neither ice rink has published its New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day hours. Our Bournemouth ice rink page will carry them when they appear.

New Year’s Day: the Poole Quay bath tub race

The best-known free event on 1 January is a few miles west in Poole. Poole Tourism describes the New Year’s Day Bath Tub Race as a charity race in which crews in home-made craft race along the quay, “rain or shine”, watched by hundreds. In 2026 the race started at 11am from the pontoons east of Poole Bridge.

That page still describes the 2026 race. The 2027 race has not been announced yet. We will add the date and times when the organisers publish them.

Getting home

There is no published late-night transport plan for New Year’s Eve yet. Our Christmas travel page will carry South Western Railway’s and morebus’s festive timetables when they are released, and the town centre car parks and their overnight charges are on our parking in Bournemouth page. Check roadworks and travel before you set off.

What is still to come

  • Any public fireworks display for 31 December, from an organiser or venue.
  • The Pavilion’s DJ and finishing time, from the theatre.
  • The ice rinks’ and the Alpine Lodge’s New Year’s Eve hours, from their operators.
  • The date and start time of the 2027 Poole bath tub race, from Poole Tourism.
  • New Year’s Eve trains and buses, from South Western Railway and morebus.

Sources