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Boardmasters Festival

Boardmasters Festival

GenreRock, Indie rock, Alternative rock, Dance
DatesSecond weekend of August
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Newquay, Cornwall, England
Coordinates50°26′20″N 5°2′32″W / 50.43889°N 5.04222°W / 50.43889; -5.04222
Years active1981–present
Most recent9–13 August 2023
Next event7 – 11 August, 2024
ParticipantsSee lineups
Attendance53,000 (2023)
Websitewww.Boardmasters.co.uk


Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of Newquay. The festival was founded in 1981 as a surfing competition,[1] and in 2005 it was expanded to include music acts, taking place at Watergate Bay. The current capacity is 53,000.[2][3]

The majority of the music performances take place to the north of Newquay near Watergate Bay. The Men's Pro 5 Star WQS surf competition takes place on Fistral Beach where a skate ramp is built for the BMX and Skateboard competitions.[4] Other sporting events include The Women's Open, WSL Men's Longboard, WSL Women's Longboard, Boys/Girls Pro Junior and Under 12's. It also has a well-being program featuring aerial yoga, massages, wood-fired hot tubs and champagne.[5]

The event is owned and managed by Vision Nine Group.[6]

  1. ^ "Snoop Dogg announced as third Boardmasters Headliner for 2014". Newquay.co.uk. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Surf's up: Boardmasters festival increases capacity". 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Boardmasters seeks to raise numbers". Boardmasters. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Official Boardmasters Website". Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Wellbeing | Boardmasters Festival 2019". www.boardmasters.com. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Our Events". Visionninegroup.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.