Victorious Festival

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Victorious Festival returns for the August bank holiday weekend in 2026, bringing with it more huge names from the world of music, comedy and entertainment. Super Early Bird tickets are now available, so you can lock in your entry to the stunning seaside event at the best prices.

Check back here for line-up details as they're announced, but for a bit of flavour, here's some insight into what there was to enjoy in 2025.

Friday's festivities kicked off with art-punkers Man/Woman/Chainsaw literally cartwheeling onto the Castle Stage. Their augmentation of piano and violin into the regular guitars-and-drums setup cemented their position existing "on the thin line between pretty and noisy".

Shortly afterwards Britpop mainstays The Charlatans took to the Common Stage for the first of the weekend's afternoon special guest slots. Around two thirds of the way through their set the band treated the huge crowd to a one-two punch of hits in the form of One to Another and The Only One I Know, whilst also finding room for brand new single We Are Love.

They were followed by Dublin garage punk band Sprints, fresh off their tour supporting countrymen Fontaines DC. A raucous and impassioned set ended with singer Karla Chubb delivering the final lines from within a rapt audience.

Next it was the turn of comedian Joel Dommett, taking to the main stage due to Sea Defence Works bringing about a slight change to the usual site plan. Whilst he was getting the Common Stage laughing, Ash brought some of their enduring hits to the Castle Stage. The evergreen pop rockers delivering their own hits such as Girl From Mars and Shining Light, whilst also finding room for a quick take on the Harry Belafonte calypso classic Jump In The Line.

Daniel Bedingfield followed, after his sister performed at Victorious Festival just last year - his set merging singalong torch ballads with his huge garage breakthrough Gotta Get Thru This.

Following their rapturously received Glastonbury set, rockers Wunderhorse put in a driven and aggressive set on the Common Stage, whilst over at the Castle Stage it was the return of Everything Everything, with the years of performing having clearly not taken a toll on singer Jonathan's renowned falsetto - in full swing on tracks such as Cough Cough and Distant Past.

Kaiser Chiefs stepped into the slot vacated by an unwell Michael Kiwanuka - the band embracing breakout smash Employment on its 20th anniversary. The set leant heavily on material from their debut, which also brought a welcome return to the riotous Take My Temperature.

The headliner selection was varied, with Queens of the Stone Age bringing their sludgy desert rock to the main stage, whilst Madness were welcomed back to Portsmouth by a huge Castle Stage crowd (many in their customary Fez hats). Elsewhere, Dodgy brought the feelgood 90s vibes to Under The Trees, whilst multi-genre DJ Nathan Dawe thrilled at the Seaside Stage. 

Saturday arrived in robust fashion with Isle of Wight punkers The Pill opening procedures on the main stage. Their set of biting feminist punk anthems and witty between-song banter played out to a large and growing crowd before the weekend's second afternoon special guests took to the stage: Rizzle Kicks.

The Brighton duo's return to music was much celebrated by the Common Stage crowd, singing along to smash hits Mama Do The Hump, Skip To The Good Bit and Down With The Trumpets as though the duo had never been away. The pop vibes endured - and so did the crowd - with Rizzle Kicks being followed on the main stage by Scouting for Girls and local boys done good Crystal Tides.

Meanwhile, there was another local act tearing it up on the Castle Stage, with the winner of the Road to Victorious - Mackenzie - using her powerhouse vocals to show just why she ran away with the public vote at the competition earlier in the year.

Later in the day Public Service Broadcasting returned to Victorious with a slot on the Castle Stage. Whilst there was no room for anything from third album Every Valley, the band delivered Go!, Gagarin, Everest and more to a crowd of passionate fans as the sun began to set.

On the Common Stage, Travis delivered singalong after singalong with a walk through some of their huge catalogue of hits - singer Fran looking more like a mad scientist these days but still being a consummate and engaging frontman.

The Saturday headliner options were no less diverse than on the previous night. Vampire Weekend very much put the art into art punk with an intriguing and career-spanning set, whilst Nelly Furtado rolled out hit after hit after hit on the Castle Stage. Meanwhile Mike Skinner returned (having played at the first proper Victorious Festival when it was at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard); the Streets man delivering a DJ set on the Seaside Stage.

Sunday's shenanigans began with Victorious Festival favourite and former Road to Victorious winner Harvey Jay Dodgson opening the Common Stage, before making way for the returning Craig David. An enormous crowd turned out for the TS5 show, which highlighted how no-one does it quite like the '7 Days' singer, who managed to MC, rap, sing and DJ completely solo. An accomplished and assured performance that sets the Southampton native as a truly unique force in his field.

Things got altogether weirder on the Castle Stage, with Young Knives bringing their angular and sideways take on "landfill indie". New material featured alongside breakout hits like She's Attracted To, with the devil-may-care chaos showing that they too are peerless in both approach and delivery.

Later in the day Starsailor frontman James Walsh openly marvelled at the size of the Castle Stage crowd, remarking that he's more usually found performing solo on the acoustic stages. The vast audience was treated to a run through some of the band's greatest hits, with Poor Misguided Fool, Alcoholic, Four To The Floor, Silence Is Easy and Good Souls all making an appearance in the tight set.

The 00s revival continued, with Reverend and the Makers continuing their notable revival with a greatly received set, whilst Merseyside darlings The Zutons brought their upbeat hits - and fetching getup for singer Dave McCabe - to the Common Stage.

When it came to the headliners, Kings of Leon drew what's sure to be the biggest crowd of the whole festival - with tens of thousands of fans flocking to hear the Followill brothers' take on southern garage-inspired rock. The 21-song set featured early tracks The Bucket and Molly's Chambers alongside the huge breakout smashes Use Somebody and Sex on Fire.

Meanwhile, over on the Castle Stage there was a dance-inspired DJ set from Spice Girl Melanie C - who even managed to re-work some of her group's hits into iconic rave classics. Whilst somewhat sparsely attended at first - with many people flocking to the Common Stage, the arena filled out noticeably, as people came for the dance and stayed for the hit-heavy set.

Of course, there was much to enjoy across the various other stages across the weekend as well, with a huge variety of acts, including London's only all-female brass band (She's Got Brass) playing a fun and energetic set on the World Music Stage, and the MTV2s at Under The Trees, who helped slightly ageing rockers relive their youth with a set of covers that would have fit the bill for any Delight night at Route 66. Plus, there were a constant rotation of top DJs bringing the party atmosphere to Southsea Castle (again re-named Henry's House for the occasion).

To make sure you don't miss the action at Victorious Festival 2026, book your tickets at: victoriousfestival.co.uk/buy-tickets/.