What’s On in Swansea This Week

31 August–6 September 2026 · Jazz Festival, Gower Food Festival & More

Looking for things to do in Swansea this week? Summer may be drawing to a close, but Swansea certainly isn’t slowing down.

From the Swansea International Jazz Festival and the start of the Gower Walking Festival to Bank Holiday family fun at Oystermouth Castle, there’s comedy, live music, food and plenty of free activities packed into the week ahead.

Here are some of our picks for Monday 31 August to Sunday 6 September 2026.

⭐ Headline Event: Swansea International Jazz Festival

📅 Thursday 3–Sunday 6 September   📍 Venues across Swansea

Swansea International Jazz Festival returns for four days of live music, bringing local, national and international musicians to the city.

This year’s programme features 10 main concerts alongside more than 50 FREE Stroller performances across 14 venues, which makes this one of the best weekends of the year for music fans in Swansea.

Ticketed highlights include Nicolas Meier’s World Group, Claire Martin & Laurence Cottle, Georgina Jackson, Christian Garrick’s String Bag, the Tango Jazz Quartet and Hejira: Celebrating Joni Mitchell.

But you certainly don’t need a concert ticket to join in.

The free Stroller programme brings live music into pubs, bars and venues around the Maritime Quarter and city centre throughout the weekend.

There are even jazz cruises aboard the Copper Jack, so the festival spreads well beyond the usual concert stage.

Our tip: if you’ve never been to the festival before, head towards Swansea’s Maritime Quarter over the weekend and explore some of the free performances.

🎉 10 Top Things to Do in Swansea This Week

1. Swansea International Jazz Festival

📅 3–6 September   📍 Various Swansea venues

Four days, 10 headline concerts and more than 50 free performances make this our standout event of the week.

2. Prince and Princess Day

📅 Monday 31 August, 11am–4pm   📍 Oystermouth Castle

Bank Holiday Monday gets a fairytale makeover as some familiar storybook characters take over Oystermouth Castle.

Expect games, storytelling, bubbles, snow effects, singalongs and plenty of opportunities for photographs.

A lovely way to squeeze one more family adventure out of the summer holidays.

3. Miriam’s Full English LIVE

📅 Tuesday 1 September   📍 Swansea Building Society Arena

Miriam Margolyes arrives in Swansea with stories from her new book Miriam’s Full English.

Expect stories, opinions, plenty of laughs and a characteristically unfiltered audience Q&A.

Age guidance is 14+ at the discretion of a parent or guardian.

4. Gower Food & Drink Festival

📅 Saturday 5 September   📍 Pennard Community Playing Fields

Come hungry!

More than 40 food and drink vendors are expected alongside live music, children’s activities, field games and the village show.

It’s a good choice if you’re looking to combine a day exploring Gower with some local food.

5. Gower Walking Festival

📅 Begins Saturday 5 September   📍 Locations across Gower

Fancy making September the month you get outdoors a little more?

The annual Gower Walking Festival begins this weekend and continues until 13 September, with almost 40 guided walks exploring the landscape, wildlife, history and communities of the Gower Peninsula.

There are walks covering different distances and interests, so you don’t necessarily need to be an experienced hiker to get involved.

6. Rogues’ Gallery Comedy Club

📅 Thursday 3 September, 7pm   📍 Down By Here

Need a laugh? Down By Here’s regular comedy night returns with Robin Morgan, supported by Col Howarth.

7. Gower Bike Ride

📅 Sunday 6 September   📍 Swansea & Gower

Choose a 12-, 35- or 63-mile route and cycle through some of the area’s scenery while raising money for Kids Cancer Charity.

There’s a route for casual cyclists as well as riders looking for a much bigger Sunday challenge.

8. Swansea Motorcycle Show

📅 Sunday 6 September   📍 Swansea Bus Museum

Motorcycle enthusiasts can head to Swansea Bus Museum for this year’s Swansea Motorcycle Show.

A good alternative Sunday outing, particularly for anyone interested in bikes, transport and motoring.

9. Craft & Flea Swansea

📅 Sunday 6 September   📍 Brangwyn Hall

Independent makers, collectors, designers and small businesses set up inside Brangwyn Hall.

If you enjoy finding something a little different from the high street, this is worth adding to your Sunday plans.

10. More Than Just a Record Fair

📅 Monday 31 August–Saturday 5 September   📍 Down By Here

Vinyl lovers have almost an entire week to browse at this extended record fair, running from 10am–4pm each day.

📅 What’s On Day by Day

Monday 31 August — Bank Holiday Monday

There are plenty of reasons not to spend the final Bank Holiday of summer sitting at home.

• 👑 Prince and Princess Day – Oystermouth Castle:  Storytelling, characters, games, bubbles and magical family entertainment from 11am–4pm.
• 🎡 Swansea Mega Value Wristband Fair – Singleton Lacrosse Field:  The final opportunity to enjoy the fair before it packs up for another year.
• 🎵 More Than Just a Record Fair – Down By Here:  The first day of a six-day celebration of vinyl and music.
• 🦀 Bank Holiday BBQ – The Oyster House, Mumbles:  Combine a trip to Mumbles with some Bank Holiday food.
• 🚗 Dunvant RFC U16s Car Boot Sale:  A morning option for bargain hunters.
• ⚓ Swansea Marina Summer Trail:  Another final-day activity for families looking for something around the waterfront.

Tuesday 1 September

• 🎤 Miriam’s Full English LIVE – Swansea Building Society Arena:  Miriam Margolyes brings her latest live show to Swansea.
• 🎨 Pottery Painting with Craftsea – Albert Hall:  A creative evening session running from 6pm–8pm.
• 📚 Storyopolis Summer Workshop – Volcano Theatre:  A free creative option for younger visitors.

Wednesday 2 September

• 🎨 Life Drawing – Elysium Gallery & Studios:  An evening creative session beginning at 6pm.
• ⛪ Churchyards of Gower – St Andrew’s Church, Penrice:  An illustrated evening talk exploring Gower’s fascinating churchyards.
• 🎬 The Odyssey – Taliesin Arts Centre:  Christopher Nolan’s epic arrives on the big screen at 7:30pm.

Thursday 3 September

• 🎷 Swansea International Jazz Festival begins:  The city starts four days of jazz, with Nicolas Meier’s World Group among the opening-night highlights.
• 😂 Rogues’ Gallery Comedy Club – Down By Here:  Stand-up with Robin Morgan and Col Howarth.
• 🎨 Twilight Reflections Paint & Sip – Croeso Lounge:  Painting and a relaxing evening out rolled into one.
• 🎥 Making A Film About Mark Fisher – Volcano Theatre:  Film followed by discussion.
• 🎸 Rise Above Cancer Presents: Spaced – The Bunkhouse:  An alternative live-music option for Thursday evening.
• 🎨 Our World on Show – Swansea Museum:  Free craft activities provide another budget-friendly family option.

Friday 4 September

Friday belongs to the Jazz Festival.

• 🎷 Claire Martin & Laurence Cottle: Bass to Face:  National Waterfront Museum.
• 🎺 Georgina Jackson’s Sass & Brass:  Another of Friday’s main festival performances.
• 🎶 FREE Jazz Stroller gigs:  Free performances at venues including The Georgian, Queens Hotel, The Observatory, Pump House, The Swigg and other locations around Swansea.

Elsewhere:

• 🎥 GowerReels Film Evening – Newton Parish Hall
• 💃 JHOOM – Bambu
• 🎧 RUST – Hippos
• 🎸 The Five Hundred – The Bunkhouse

Saturday 5 September

Saturday is arguably the biggest day of the week.

• 🍴 Gower Food & Drink Festival – Pennard
• 🚶 Gower Walking Festival begins
• 🎷 Swansea International Jazz Festival
• 🏰 Cadw Open Doors – Oxwich Castle
• ⛪ Cadw Open Doors – St Paul’s Church, Sketty
• 🎶 Jazz Stroller gigs across Swansea
• 🎤 Swonzee Zoo All Dayer – The Bunkhouse
• 🛍️ Pontarddulais Market
• 🎃 Clay Pumpkin Workshop
• 😂 Saturday Night Comedy

With so much happening, you could easily make a full day of it.

Sunday 6 September

Don’t write Sunday off: there’s another full programme ahead.

• 🚴 Gower Bike Ride:  Choose a 12-, 35- or 63-mile route while supporting Kids Cancer Charity.
• 🏍️ Swansea Motorcycle Show – Swansea Bus Museum
• 🛍️ Craft & Flea – Brangwyn Hall
• 🏰 FREE entry to Oxwich Castle – Cadw Open Doors
• 🌿 Brownfield Biodiversity Tour – FREE
• 🎷 Swansea International Jazz Festival finale

Sunday’s Jazz Festival programme includes the Cottle Brothers Dixieland All-star Band, Tango Jazz Quartet and Hejira: Celebrating Joni Mitchell, plus a full programme of free performances.

Look out too for Fiesta Resistance at Swansea Amphitheatre, a free, family-friendly way to experience the festival.

🆓 Free Things to Do in Swansea This Week

Watching the pennies after the summer holidays? You can still have a great week.

Some of this week’s free or free-entry possibilities include:

• 🎷 More than 50 free Stroller performances during Swansea International Jazz Festival
• 🏰 Cadw Open Doors at Oxwich Castle
• ⛪ Cadw Open Doors at St Paul’s Church, Sketty
• 🎨 Our World on Show at Swansea Museum
• 🌿 Brownfield Biodiversity Tour
• 🎶 Fiesta Resistance at Swansea Amphitheatre
• 📚 Selected free family/creative activities
• ⚓ A walk around Swansea Marina and the waterfront – always free!

Always check whether advance booking is required even when an event itself is free.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Picks

For families, our standout Bank Holiday choice has to be Prince and Princess Day at Oystermouth Castle.

Later in the week, look out for free museum crafts, outdoor activities and the family-friendly elements of Gower Food & Drink Festival.

And don’t assume a jazz festival is only for serious jazz aficionados. The free performances around Swansea let families dip in, listen for a while and move on without committing to a full concert.

🎵 Live Music & Nightlife

This may be one of Swansea’s strongest live-music weekends of the year.

The International Jazz Festival dominates proceedings from Thursday onwards, but there are alternatives too.

The Bunkhouse has live music across the weekend, while Bambu and Hippos offer late-night options on Friday.

If you’re heading into Swansea without a firm plan, the Maritime Quarter is probably the place we’d choose this weekend, particularly once the Jazz Festival’s free Stroller programme gets underway.

🌿 Get Outdoors: Gower Weekend

Prefer walking boots to dancing shoes?

Saturday sees the start of the Gower Walking Festival, while Sunday’s Gower Bike Ride is another way to explore the area.

Add the Gower Food & Drink Festival at Pennard and free Open Doors entry to Oxwich Castle, and there’s enough happening to make Gower a destination in its own right this weekend.

⭐ Editor’s Pick

Swansea International Jazz Festival, but try it differently.

You don’t necessarily need to buy tickets or plan your entire weekend around a particular artist.

Pick an afternoon, head towards Swansea’s Maritime Quarter and follow the free music.

With more than 50 Stroller performances across 14 venues, it’s a chance to discover somewhere new (and perhaps someone new too).

And if jazz isn’t usually your thing? Even better. Try one performance and see what happens.

Plan Your Week in Swansea

Event information can change, particularly times, availability and ticketing, so check with organisers or venues before travelling.

And remember, this is only a selection of what’s happening.

Running an event in Swansea? You can submit it FREE to the What’s On In Swansea events calendar:

whatsoninswansea.com/submit-your-event

Whether you’re heading to a festival, exploring Gower or just looking for something free to do, enjoy the week and make the most of Swansea.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s on in Swansea this weekend?

The weekend of 5–6 September 2026 is particularly busy, with Swansea International Jazz Festival, Gower Food & Drink Festival, the start of Gower Walking Festival, Gower Bike Ride, Swansea Motorcycle Show, Craft & Flea at Brangwyn Hall and a range of free activities.

Is Swansea International Jazz Festival free?

There are both ticketed and free events. Alongside the main concerts, the festival has an extensive Stroller programme of free live performances at venues around Swansea.

What free things can I do in Swansea this weekend?

Free options include Jazz Festival Stroller performances, selected Cadw Open Doors attractions, museum activities and other community and outdoor events. Some free events may still require advance booking.

What family events are happening in Swansea this week?

Bank Holiday Monday includes Prince and Princess Day at Oystermouth Castle, while the week also features museum crafts, creative workshops, outdoor activities and family-friendly elements of the Gower Food & Drink Festival and Jazz Festival.

What’s happening in Gower this weekend?

Gower has a particularly busy weekend with Gower Food & Drink Festival, the beginning of Gower Walking Festival, Gower Bike Ride and Open Doors at Oxwich Castle.

Where can I find more Swansea events?

Check the What’s On In Swansea events calendar for upcoming events, or submit your own Swansea event free of charge through the website.