This July, Ballybunion will play host to a large-scale live music event as Horizon Festival arrives from 10-12th July 2026 with a purpose-built beach-top festival site overlooking the Atlantic and centred around a spectacular Big Top tent.
Horizon Festival has been designed as a complete festival environment rather than a single-stage concert. The dedicated site will be transformed into an immersive space where music, atmosphere, food, and social experience combine across three evenings in one carefully planned location.
The Big Top Experience
At the heart of the event is the fully covered Big Top arena — a high-energy performance space engineered to deliver powerful sound, lighting, and production more commonly associated with major city festivals. The covered structure ensures the show goes on regardless of weather, while still retaining the unmistakable atmosphere of a summer festival beside the sea.
Around the Big Top, the wider beach-top site will feature:
• A large onsite bar designed for fast service
• A selection of quality food vendors
• A relaxed chill-out area away from the crowd
• An outdoor stage adding to the festival atmosphere before and between main performances
• Clearly designed queuing systems and crowd flow routes for comfort and safety
The result is an event where attendees can arrive early, stay late, and enjoy the full festival environment rather than simply attending a gig. The event is strictly over 19s, with ID required, ensuring a safe, well-managed, adult-only setting across the weekend.
Line-Up Across the Weekend – Horizon Festival brings together a diverse mix of well-known Irish acts, DJs, live performers, and crowd favourites:
• Jenny Greene
• Bingo Loco
• The Highstool Prophets
• DJ Marty Guilfoyle
• The Circus Ponies
• Super Céilí
• The Rising
• Electrad
Each evening offers a different style and atmosphere – from high-energy dance and interactive entertainment to live band performances and full festival party vibes under the canvas of the Big Top.
Designed With Safety, Comfort and Experience in Mind
Significant planning has gone into the layout and operation of the site. Professional security teams, stewarding, first aid services, and full event infrastructure will be in place throughout the weekend. The site has been mapped specifically to ensure smooth crowd movement, efficient access to facilities, and comfortable spaces for festival-goers to gather, relax, and socialise.
Festival organisers expect thousands to attend across the weekend, bringing a significant boost to local accommodation providers, restaurants, pubs, taxis, and businesses throughout Ballybunion and the wider North Kerry area.
A festival organiser commented: “Horizon Festival is about more than just music. It’s about creating something special in Ballybunion that brings people into the town, supports local businesses, and showcases the area as a destination for large-scale events. We want visitors to experience the festival, but also the pubs, cafés, restaurants, and hospitality that Ballybunion is known for. The beach-top setting gives us a unique opportunity to do something that simply wouldn’t be possible anywhere else.”
Tickets went on sale at 9am on Wednesday morning, with Early Bird tickets selling out within one hour due to exceptional demand. General admission tickets are now available via Eventbrite at the link below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horizon-festival-ballybunion-tickets-1982052537495
Attendees are encouraged to secure tickets early and follow festival social channels for updates, announcements, and event information.
Horizon Festival 2026
Where: Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
When: 10–12 July 2026
Entry: Strictly Over 19s (ID Required)
Tickets: Available via Eventbrite
Horizon Festival promises to deliver something genuinely new for Ballybunion — the atmosphere of a major festival, the energy of a Big Top show, and the unique setting of a beach-top site on the Wild Atlantic Coast.
