The 16 festivals actually held on the beach
Plenty of festivals call themselves “beach” festivals; far fewer are actually held on the sand. We checked. Of the 1,076 festivals in the directory, 16 are on the beach, in the strict sense that Wikidata records a beach as the venue, or the festival’s own name or venue says so.
The 16 festivals on the beach
- Bard on the Beach — Vancouver, Canada
- Boryeong Mud Festival — Daecheon Beach, South Korea
- Coney Island Film Festival — Coney Island, United States
- Driftwood and Sand Festival — Hokitika Beach, New Zealand
- Electrobeach Music Festival — France
- Festiplage — Cape Cove, Canada
- Flickerfest — Bondi Beach, Australia
- Hideout Festival — Zrće, Croatia
- Java Rockin'land — Pantai Carnaval, Indonesia
- Kumano Great Fireworks Festival — Kumano, Japan
- Les Plages Électroniques — Cannes, France
- Mikuni Fireworks Festival — Mikuni Sunset Beach, Japan
- RFM Somnii — Praia do Relógio, Portugal
- Rockaway Beach Festival — Bognor Regis, United Kingdom
- Venice Film Festival — Venice, Italy
- Zrce Spring Break Croatia — Novalja, Croatia
The list runs from fireworks launched from a Japanese beach to a sand sculpture festival in New Zealand, a mud festival on the Korean coast and a film festival on Bondi Beach.
How we decide
We do not take “beach” in a festival’s name as proof when it is only part of a town name, such as a Long Beach or a Palm Beach. The tag needs a beach venue in Wikidata, or the festival’s own name or venue naming the beach. Everything else gets the honest reading of the shore gauge.
Frequently asked questions
What does “On the beach” mean here?
The venue is a beach according to Wikidata, or the festival’s own name or venue says so.
Why are there so few?
Because we keep the tag strict: 16 of 1,076 festivals.
Is a festival in Miami Beach on the beach?
Not necessarily: Miami Beach is a city. We tag the venue, not the town name.
Want a festival with sand between your toes?
Four quick questions, one shortlist from our 1,076 festivals. Free, no account, and your address is never passed to a festival.
Sources
- Wikidata — festival list, locations and genres (CC0)
- Natural Earth — coastline and country outlines (public domain)
- Festival websites — month, checked October 2026
Juliette follows seaside festivals and open-air events along the coasts of Europe and beyond. She checks every figure against the directory data before it is published.