Weymouth Town Council lights the bonfire at 7.40pm and starts the fireworks at 8pm on Weymouth Beach on Thursday 5 November, with a pilot drone display.

Weymouth’s bonfire night display is on Thursday 5 November 2026 on Weymouth Beach, and it is the one fixture in the county with every detail already published. Weymouth Town Council’s listing has the bonfire lit at 7.40pm and the fireworks from 8pm, and the council says this year’s display “will also feature a pilot drone display”. Sherborne’s schools’ display follows on Saturday 7 November.

The rest of the county’s displays are run by rugby clubs, Rotary branches and school associations, and most had not published 2026 dates by 25 September. This page carries what the organisers themselves have confirmed, what they did last year, and where the gaps are.

The quick answer

  • Weymouth: Thursday 5 November, Weymouth Beach. Event 7.30pm to 8.30pm, bonfire lit 7.40pm, fireworks 8pm, plus a pilot drone display. Organised by Weymouth Town Council; no ticket is mentioned.
  • Sherborne: Saturday 7 November, 7pm to 8.30pm, at Sherborne Girls on Bradford Road, the Joint Schools’ annual display. Booking opens on 31 October.
  • Bridport Rugby Club’s display was on Saturday 1 November 2025, free, at Brewery Fields, gates 6pm and fireworks 8pm. Neither Bridport nor Dorchester rugby club had published 2026 details when we checked.

Weymouth: the town council’s display

Weymouth Town Council’s event listing reads: “Join us for our annual bonfire and firework display on Weymouth Beach on Thursday 5th November.” The event runs from 7.30pm to 8.30pm with the bonfire lit at 7.40pm and the fireworks beginning at 8pm. The address given is Weymouth Beach, The Esplanade, DT4 7AN, and the contact is the council office on 01305 239839.

The council’s fireworks page sets the display in a longer programme. The council has committed to five summer displays on Monday nights each year up to 2030, and to “the traditional firework display on Thursday 5th November which this year will also feature a pilot drone display”. That page says “more details will be released on timings soon”, so the drone segment’s slot in the evening is not yet fixed.

Last year’s display, on Wednesday 5 November 2025, used the same times: bonfire 7.40pm, fireworks 8pm, on the beach below the Esplanade. Our parking in Dorset page has the Weymouth car parks; the roadworks and travel page will carry any closure the council announces for the evening.

Sherborne: the Joint Schools’ display

The annual Joint Schools’ Fireworks Display is on Saturday 7 November 2026, 7pm to 8.30pm, at Sherborne Girls, Bradford Road, Sherborne DT9 3QN, according to its TryBooking page. The page says “staff and their families are warmly invited” and that sweet treats and drinks will be sold from a horsebox, with no sparklers allowed on site. Booking opens at 11am on 31 October. Because the invitation is worded for the schools’ staff and families, check with the organiser before travelling if you are not connected to the schools.

Bridport: the rugby club at Brewery Fields

Bridport Rugby Club’s Grand Fireworks Display was on Saturday 1 November 2025 at Bridport Leisure Centre, Brewery Fields, Skilling Hill Road, DT6 5LN, with gates from 6pm, fireworks at 8pm, hot food and drinks, and free entry, according to the listing on the town’s Bridport and West Bay events site. No 2026 listing was on the town site on 25 September.

Dorchester: the rugby club

Dorchester Rugby Club’s display is listed in Dorset Council’s family information directory in previous years, but that listing would not load on 25 September and the club’s website carried no 2026 fireworks details. We will add the date, times and prices when the club publishes them.

Everywhere else

We found no organiser listing for a November 2026 display in Swanage, Blandford, Wimborne, Shaftesbury, Gillingham or Sturminster Newton by 25 September. That does not mean there is none; it means the round tables and Rotary clubs that run them had not posted. This page will be updated in the second half of October, when most publish.

The weekend after

Remembrance Sunday is 8 November, three days after Weymouth’s display. Dorchester’s service at the war memorial starts at 10.55am; the details town by town are on our Remembrance Sunday page. The Christmas lights go on in Lyme Regis on 21 November and in Weymouth and Swanage on 28 November: see Christmas lights switch-ons.

Sources