Festival of Humanism 2026
Friday 12 June, 19:00 –
Sunday 14 June, 15:15
Bournemouth International Centre
Exeter Road,
Bournemouth
BH2 5BH
The Festival of Humanism is a true highlight of the humanist calendar. Kicking off on Friday evening with a fantastic evening of entertainment and welcome drinks in the bar, from Saturday morning through to Sunday afternoon we welcome scientists and campaigners, historians and artists, politicians and journalists, to fascinate, educate, entertain – and inspire!
What I enjoyed most was the sense of belonging – being surrounded by like-minded people who value reason, compassion, and human dignity. The talks were deeply thoughtful, but even more powerful were the moments of personal stories and open conversations. It reminded me that I’m not alone on this journey.
Humanists UK Convention 2025 attendee
Incredibly interesting and stimulating talks, and the chance to meet and speak to like-minded people
Humanists UK Convention 2025 attendee
I loved meeting so many like-minded people, reassured that there is still hope despite the worrying times! Thank you for the warm welcome from all the staff involved.
Humanists UK Convention 2025 attendee
I appreciated the diversity of speakers and topics and the quality of all of the presentations. Many of the sessions sent me away thinking about what is happening in the world.
Humanists UK Convention 2025 attendee
A real mind-boosting treat! My first convention, and it exceeded expectations.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 attendee
Brilliant speakers, great atmosphere, lots of really nice interesting people to talk to. My first conference and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Humanists UK Convention 2023 attendee
Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere is great!
Humanists UK Convention 2024 attendee
I enjoyed the high quality speakers who brought so many ideas and such understanding to us. I felt thrilled to belong to an organisation which takes action at the highest levels of politics and does so much work in so many fields. I enjoyed the sense of being with people who shared my values and were of similar mind. Thank you to all who organised it.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
Comedy was brilliant. Speakers were brilliant. Delegates were brilliant.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
It’s like in the old days, when we used to read newspapers – when you turn the page, you’re not sure what you’re going to get. So it can be challenging and thought-provoking, but most of all it is an oasis of greatness in a world that is going absolutely mad.
Humanists UK Convention 2019 attendee
As someone attending my first convention, it was very easy to meet and discuss things even if I was not certain on my position on the topics – the friendliness of those attending gave space to discuss and explore the ideas.
Humanists UK Convention 2022 attendee
I loved the gala dinner, meeting other humanists, and enjoying being in the company of so many lovely and inspiring people.
Humanists UK Convention 2024 attendee
Early Bird Tickets for Humanists UK Festival 2026 are £159, and we have a special rate of just £79 for students, disabled people, and people in receipt of universal credit or pension credit.
Ticket-holders are entitled to attend all sessions of Festival 2026 from Friday evening comedy through to Sunday afternoon.
Premium Lunch
Fork buffet: main course, with side dishes, and desserts
- Main course
- Sweet potato and spinach Kashmir rogan josh curry, with herbed coconut rice with a poppadum and bhaji and mango chutney (Ve) (V)
- Sweet and sour beef, bean sprouts, shallots, peppers, shredded Chinese cabbage and fresh coriander served with braised rice and prawn crackers
- Side dishes
- Tomato and marinated courgette salad (Ve) (V)
- Scorched broccoli and fire-roasted pepper salad (Ve) (V)
- Seasonal leaves (Ve) (V)
- Desserts
- Chocolate and clementine torte (Ve) (V)
- Strawberry, ginger, and oat fool (V)
N.B. The menu options listed above are illustrative and may change.
Basic lunch
For a more affordable option, choose a lunch bag.
Both lunch add-ons come with three servings of freshly brewed coffee and hot water with a selection of teabags on Saturday, and on Sunday.
Prefer to grab your own lunch?
If you’d rather get your own lunch at one of the many restaurants and cafés just a short walk away from our venue, you can still add servings of tea or coffee for our two morning and afternoon breaks each day.
We include these as optional add-ons to allow attendees to choose the shape of their weekend, while keeping the basic ticket price as low as possible.
Prosecco drinks reception
Three-course dinner
Starter
- Smoked Baba Ghanoush and Harissa Terrine (V) (Ve)
- Whipped Feta Cheese (V)
- Slices of Duck Breast
Main
- Gnocchi in a Celeriac Velouté (V) (Ve)
- Halloumi, Red Pepper and Spinach Wellington (V)
- Roast Blade of Beef
Dessert
- Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart (V) (Ve)
- Lemon Meringue Dome (V)
with a half bottle of wine per person
N.B. The menu options listed above are illustrative and may change.
Friday 12 June
| Start | End | Tregonwell | Tregonwell Bar | Purbeck Foyer | BIC Main Entrance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:15 | Leave for ‘Humanist Bournemouth’ guided tour | ||||
| 18:00 | 21:20 | Humanists UK registration stall | |||
| 19:00 | 20:00 | Card-only bar Exhibitions | Humanists UK registration stall | ||
| 20:00 | 22:00 | Friday night comedy | |||
| 22:00 | 23:30 | Welcome drinks (card only) |
Saturday 13 June
| Start | End | Tregonwell Hall | Purbeck Lounge | Purbeck Hall | Purbeck Foyer | Pavilion Ballroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK registration stall opens at 08:30 | ||||
| 09:00 | 09:05 | Session 1A | Humanists UK registration stall | |||
| 10:05 | 10:55 | Session 2A | Session 2B | Humanists UK registration/shop stall | ||
| 10:55 | 11:20 | Teas and coffees (Lunch or teas and coffees ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK shop stall | |||
| 11:20 | 12:10 | Session 3A | Session 3B | Humanists UK shop stall | ||
| 12:10 | 13:25 | Lunch (Lunch ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK shop stall | |||
| 13:25 | 14:15 | Session 4A | Session 4B | Humanists UK stall closes at 13:30 | ||
| 14:25 | 15:15 | Session 5A | Session 5B | Humanists UK stall opens at 15:00 | ||
| 15:15 | 15:45 | Teas and coffees (Lunch or teas and coffees ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK shop stall | |||
| 15:45 | 16:35 | Session 6A | Session 6B | Humanists UK shop stall | ||
| 16:45 | 17:35 | Session 7A | Humanists UK shop stall closes at 17:45 | |||
| 19:30 | 20:00 | Drinks reception (Gala dinner ticket-holders only) | ||||
| 20:00 | 23:00 | Gala Dinner (Gala dinner ticket-holders only) |
Sunday 14 June
| Start | End | Tregonwell Hall | Purbeck Lounge | Purbeck Hall | Purbeck Foyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK registration stall opens at 09:30 | |||
| 10:05 | 10:55 | Session 8A | Humanists UK shop stall | ||
| 10:55 | 11:20 | Teas and coffees (Lunch or teas and coffees ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK shop stall | ||
| 11:20 | 12:10 | Session 9A | Session 9B | ||
| 12:10 | 13:25 | Lunch (Lunch ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | Humanists UK shop stall | ||
| 13:25 | 14:15 | Session 10A | Session 10B | Humanists UK stall closes at 13:30 | |
| 14:25 | 15:15 | Session 11 | AGM registration opens at 14:45 (Members only) | ||
| 15:15 | 15:45 | Teas and coffees (Lunch or teas and coffees ticket-holders only) Stalls and exhibitions | AGM registration (Members only) | ||
| 15:45 | 17:15 | AGM (Members only) | |||
| 17:15 | 18:00 | Drinks with board members (Members only) |
Our base ticket does not include any food or refreshments, such as teas or coffees. We separate these out to allow us to offer the ticket at as low a price as possible, to allow as many people to attend as possible.
Years ago we took the decision to split out lunch and dinner from our standard ticket, to allow us substantially reduce the basic cost of attending. Attendees are welcome to add on coffees, teas, and lunches, and the Gala Dinner, or to head out into the city during breaks to source their own food from the range of nearby cafés, shops, and eateries during breaks.
No. As is standard, our venue’s terms and conditions do not allow food to be brought in from off the premises.
No. You should wear what you feel most comfortable wearing. Some people take a quick nap, freshen up, and have a change of clothes before dinner, while others will head out to see what Bournemouth has to offer before returning for drinks.
No. The Gala Dinner on Saturday night is open only to Festival attendees with the Gala Dinner add-on.
Yes. We have added the option for attendees join the Gala Dinner without having also bought a lunch add-on. This decision makes the dinner a more affordable prospect for more attendees. However, you must still be a Festival attendee to attend the Gala Dinner.
Yes. We offer discounted tickets for students, and for disabled people.
If you have booked a Disabled Person’s ticket and will be attending with a carer, please email info@humanists.uk to let us know their name and email address, and we will assign them a complimentary entry ticket.
We also offer a limited number of discounted tickets for those on Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Please do choose a full-price ticket if you can afford to do so. It is full-price tickets sales that allow us to offer more affordable tickets for those who would otherwise be unable to attend.
We are unable to offer any discounts on add-ons.
Through splitting out lunch and dinner, we have reduced our minimum ticket price for everyone, to allow as many people as possible to attend each year. Our Early Bird ticket for Festival 2026 is priced lower than our standard ticket for Convention 2016.
Accessibility information for the Bournemouth International Centre can be found here.
Yes. Bournemouth International Centre has its own cark park. Rates and other information are available on the BIC website.
No. Unfortunately our systems are not capable of processing payments by instalment at this time.
No. If we are able to offer day tickets at a later stage, they will be displayed on this page, and announced by email to our members and supporters.
No. Attendees travelling to the event must arrange their own accommodation.
Yes. By default, the option to receive a printed programme is selected when booking your ticket. If you leave the checkbox selected, you will receive a full-colour printed booklet at registration. In the week before the event, all attendees will receive an electronic PDF programme by email, while this page will display a simplified timetable.
In 2022, we took the decision to make our programme available by request, to cut down on unnecessary printing and waste, as in previous years we printed a programme for each attendee, and always had many spare by the end of the weekend.
All attendees will be emailed a full-colour electronic version of the programme in the week of the event.
Festival of Humanism 2026 Terms and Conditions
Humanists UK aims to ensure that everyone attending our conferences and events can participate in them fully. We are committed to providing a safe and hospitable environment for attendees, volunteers, and staff at our events and prohibit intimidating, threatening, or harassing conduct. This policy applies to speakers, staff, volunteers, exhibitors, and delegates.
Humanists UK will not tolerate any form of bullying, harassment, or victimisation and is committed to ensuring the dignity and respect of all staff, consultants, and volunteers working during our events.
Cancellations
Bookings may be cancelled free of charge before 1 February 2026. Bookings cancelled from 1 February 2026 but before 1 April 2026 will incur a 50% charge of the full price of your ticket(s). Tickets cancelled from 1 April 2026 will not be refunded, but may, at the discretion of Humanists UK, be transferred to another eligible individual nominated by you if you notify us before 12 May 2026. Any refunds for ticket cancellations will be processed within two months.
N.B. We are unable to provide refunds or make amendments beyond the terms laid out above. Many insurance providers will offer missed event or travel insurance if you need to recoup your costs in the event that you are unable to attend.
Speakers
All appearances are subject to speakers’ work and other scheduling commitments.
Photography, video, and audio recording
Humanists UK reserves the right to photograph and record video and audio of all public sections of the Festival and to make public the footage as it sees appropriate. Please be aware that by attending Festival of Humanism 2026, you consent to your voice, name, and/or likeness being used, without compensation, in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, for eternity, and you release Humanists UK, its successors, assigns, and licensees from any liability whatsoever of any nature. If you would like to ensure that you are not captured in any media, please contact events@humanists.uk and we will do our best to accommodate you.