Many of the events are free and you are invited to just turn up and enjoy, others require booking, please see the links for full details.

Venture into the gardens for the opening Saturday 8th October and you’ll be greeted by something bizarre, beautiful or both. Synchronised swimmers, giant jellyfish and glittering mermaids climb out of the water onto dry land, an illuminated parade of torchlit-wanderers take over the streets at night and, as part of a hare-brained finale,
a 90s-anthem brass band is set to perform surrounded by glittering balls of fire.

The rest of the week promises even more – free acrobatic workshops, a nautical-themed kids rave, award-winning theatre shows and our closing spectacular from across the water is a stunning audio-visual dance of illuminated horses! Either you’ve stumbled into a Salvador Dali painting, or you’re at the latest Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival!

We've picked our Top Ten events on during the festival but there's so much more on, see the full line up here.