Festival of the Winds 2026 at Bondi Beach

Date

Sunday 13 September 2026

Time

11am - 4pm

Where

Bondi Beach, Bondi Park and the Bondi Pavilion

Cost

Free - no ticket needed

Expected crowd

Up to 50,000 (Waverley Council)

Road closures

Park Drive South closed; Queen Elizabeth Dr closed south of the Pavilion 6am-6pm

Getting there

Bus 333 or 380 - extra services on the day. Do not drive

Road closures, transport and parking

I am going to put this first, because it is the thing that will actually shape your day. Waverley Council has confirmed traffic, transport and parking changes for the festival: Park Drive South will be closed, and Queen Elizabeth Drive will be closed south of the Pavilion from 6am to 6pm. The council warns of heavy congestion, delays and limited parking from the influx of visitors arriving from across greater Sydney, and it explicitly recommends public transport.

The good news is that additional bus services will operate on the day. The two main routes are the 333 and the 380. The 333 runs from Circular Quay through the city and Bondi Junction down to North Bondi - roughly 40-45 minutes end to end, checked against the Transport for NSW trip planner in August 2026 - and it has run as a 24-hour service since 2021, so a late finish is never a problem. It is prepaid, so tap on with an Opal card or a contactless card; you cannot pay the driver cash. The 380 runs between Watsons Bay and Bondi Junction via the beach. From Bondi Junction the 381 (the Tamarama loop) and the 382 also come down to the beach. If you are coming by train, the nearest station is Bondi Junction on the T4 line; there is no train at the beach and no ferry to Bondi. From the Junction it is a 333 or 380 down the hill, or a 25-30 minute downhill walk if the buses are full - which, on this particular Sunday, they will be.

The 2026 programme

There are two stages plus a creative zone inside the Pavilion, all running through the middle of the day. Here is the published programme - worth a glance before you go, because the good stuff is spread across the afternoon rather than bunched at the start.

Courtyard Creative Zone, 11am - 4pm

Inside and around the Pavilion, running the whole festival - this is your wet-weather-ish, out-of-the-wind option and where I would head with younger kids when they have had enough sun.

• Eastside Radio DJ
• Origami craft in the Bondi Pavilion Art Gallery
• Circus skills, outside the High Tide Room
• Games on the grass
• Film screening (Yalagang)
• Bondi Pavilion Clay Studio workshop
• Face painters, in the High Tide Room
• ARTEXPRESS exhibition in the Bondi Pavilion Art Gallery
• 2026-in-2026 postcard colouring, in the Story Room

In the park, 11am - 4pm

• Edgee kite workshops - make your own
• Rides
• Petting zoo
• Food stalls
• Kite stalls - if you arrive without one
• Roaming performers

The kites themselves

This is not a paddock full of supermarket kites. The draw is the giant international kites - in 2026 that includes the Winds of Sumpango from Guatemala, part of a tradition where enormous, intricately decorated kites are built by hand - flying alongside the display kites of our own Australian Kiteflyers Society. These are creatures the size of small aircraft, taking several people to launch, and once they are up they hang over the beach like they have been painted onto the sky.

Around them you get the fast stuff: stunt kites cutting figure-eights low over the sand, and the intricate handmade pieces people have spent months building. Bring your own if you have one - plenty of families fly theirs - but keep well clear of the big display kites and their lines, which need a lot of space and carry serious force.

The Sunday markets are on the same day

Here is the bit the event listings miss. Festival of the Winds falls on a Sunday, and the Bondi Markets run every Sunday from 10am to 4pm at Bondi Beach Public School on Campbell Parade - the fashion, vintage and design market, two minutes' walk from the festival. The hours overlap almost exactly. Do the markets first when they open at 10am, then cross to the park as the kites go up at 11am. Two events, one bus trip.

Going with kids

With a petting zoo, rides, face painting, circus skills and kite workshops, this is one of the best free family days on the Bondi calendar. A few practical things before you go.

• Sunscreen and hats. September is spring here and the UV is already strong, cloudy or not. Reapply.
• Water is free. Refill bubblers run along the promenade, and Sydney tap water is fine to drink.
• Toilets, showers and change rooms are in the Bondi Pavilion, open 6am-10pm daily, with baby-change facilities.
• No dogs. Dogs are not allowed on Bondi Beach or the promenade at any time, festival or not.
• No alcohol, no glass. Bondi Beach and Bondi Park are an enforced alcohol-free and glass-free zone. There are free public BBQs in Bondi Park if you want to cook.
• Agree a meeting point before you arrive. In a crowd of tens of thousands, the Pavilion is the obvious landmark.

A Bondi tradition since 1978

The first Festival of the Winds was held at Bondi Beach in 1978, and it has grown into one of Australia's largest and most iconic kite festivals - a day the council describes as turning the beach into a celebration of colour, creativity and community. Nearly fifty years on, with international kites, two stages and up to 50,000 people on the sand and the grass, it still has the feel of a community day rather than a corporate one. That is a rare thing for an event this size.

So: Sunday 13 September 2026, 11am to 4pm, free, on the bus, with a rug and sunscreen, and not a hope of parking. If you are building a day around it, the Bondi Markets on a Sunday are two minutes away, my Bondi with kids guide covers the playgrounds and the calmest swimming, and what's on at Bondi has the rest of the year. First time at the beach? Start with my first-timer guide.