Bonfire Night in South Shields

Bonfire Night 2026 falls on Thursday 5 November, but as usual the town's own fireworks are not on the night itself. South Tyneside Council's free seafront display is expected on Sunday 1 November, the weekend before, which is the arrangement South Shields has settled into for years now. It is free, there are no tickets and nothing to book, and it happens on the stretch of coast most people here could walk to.

Two displays, not one

The detail worth knowing is that the seafront runs two separate displays on the same night, one at 6pm and a second at 8pm. The fireworks are fired from behind the skate park on Sea Road, next to Ocean Beach Pleasure Park.

That split is genuinely useful. The 6pm display suits families with young children, who get the full show and are home in the warm long before bedtime. The 8pm one suits everybody else, and tends to be the busier of the two. You do not have to choose one and write the other off either, though two hours is a long time to stand about on a cold seafront if you are not planning to fill the gap.

Best for: Two chances at the same show, four hours before the actual Bonfire Night. Worth knowing if you have small children or a shift to work.

Make an afternoon of it

Ocean Beach Pleasure Park usually opens from midday on fireworks day with free admission, so you pay only for the rides and the arcades. That turns an evening event into a proper afternoon out, and it means the six o'clock display arrives at roughly the point when younger children have had enough of the waltzers anyway.

The rest of the seafront is right there. Minchella and Co on the walkway has been selling ice cream and coffee above the shore since 1942, and the coffee is the more sensible order in November. If you want something more substantial before you stake out a spot, Colmans on Ocean Road is the obvious choice, though expect a queue on a display night.

Where to stand

You do not have to be on Sea Road itself. In past years the crowd has spread right along the coast, with people watching from South Marine Park, from Lawe Top, from The Leas, and from the Littlehaven and Sandhaven promenades. All of those give you a clear line to the sky above the firing point, and all of them are considerably less crushed than the walkway beside the skate park.

Lawe Top is the pick if you want elevation and a bit of space, with the mouth of the Tyne as a backdrop. South Marine Park is the easiest option with a pushchair. Littlehaven suits anyone coming down from the riverside, and the Little Haven Hotel is a reasonable place to thaw out between the two displays.

Getting there and parking

Parking near the seafront is the pinch point. In past years the council has opened extra parking at Bents Park to take the pressure off Sea Road and the front, but it fills, and traffic afterwards is slow in every direction. If you can get the Metro to South Shields and walk down Ocean Road, do that instead. It is about fifteen minutes on foot and you will be home faster at the end of the night.

A few practical notes

Sparklers and personal fireworks are not allowed at the seafront display. Bring a torch rather than anything that burns. It is also not a night for the dog, however well behaved they are. Two displays two hours apart means a long stretch of bangs carrying across the whole seafront, and most dogs are far happier at home with the curtains shut and the radio on.

Dress for standing still on an exposed North Sea coast in November, which is colder than you think, and take a flask.

If you want something on the night itself

Only a handful of displays in the region actually fall on Thursday 5 November. The nearest is Blue Flames at Benton, which is ticketed and sells online only with no gate sales. The weekend after, Tynemouth Cricket Club runs its display on Saturday 7 November, which is a straightforward trip from here on the Shields Ferry and the Metro from North Shields.

Closer to home, South Shields Westoe RFC on Dean Road has in past years hosted one of the borough's biggest firework nights, drawing crowds in the thousands. It had not announced anything for 2026 at the time of writing, so treat it as a maybe and check the club's own channels rather than turning up on spec.

For displays across the wider region, including the Durham and Northumberland events, see our Bonfire Night round-up for the North East.

Please check before you travel

One honest caveat. At the time of writing, the 2026 seafront details above come from a single Shields Gazette report published on 20 September 2026. South Tyneside Council had not yet put up a 2026 fireworks page, and Ocean Beach's own website was still headed 2025. The date and the two display times look right, but they are not confirmed by the organiser, so check the council's website nearer the time before you make plans around them.

Spotted a South Shields bonfire or firework event we have missed? Get in touch via our contact page.