Newport Live Delivers an Active and Inclusive Summer for Thousands of Local Children, Young People and Families - delivering six weeks of arts & crafts, cinema, community sport, youth engagement and family activities.
Newport Live has celebrated another successful Summer Holiday Programme, delivering a wide range of activities, events and opportunities that engaged children, young people and families across Newport throughout the six-week school holiday period.
From family events to outreach programmes, Food and Fun projects, youth employment opportunities and national sporting experiences. Newport Live also ran intensive swimming lessons, tennis and pickleball camps, family bike rides and more as part of an extensive series of activities many of which were free.
Inclusive Community Sport Opportunities
Throughout the summer, Newport Live delivered a series of popular activities, run by the Newport Live Community Sport & Wellbeing team, which over 4,000 children took part in including its inclusive Football for All programme and the increasingly successful Girls Take Over sessions, providing welcoming environments where participants could enjoy sport, build confidence, make friends and develop their skills.
The team also supported Food and Fun projects at Tredegar Park Primary School and Milton Primary School, helping to ensure children had access to engaging physical activity opportunities alongside healthy meals and enrichment experiences throughout the holidays.
(Girls Takeover)
Families Getting Active Together Out in the Community
One highlight of this summer's programme was Family Bike Rides. The Momentwm programme at Newport Live ran Family Bike Rides at various locations across the city during the summer, offering free child places to families as part of their ongoing mission to encourage walking, wheeling and cycling in Newport.
In addition, summer 2026 saw the launch of Newport Live's brand-new Active Families initiative, a physical literacy family engagement programme designed to encourage families to be active together while developing movement skills, confidence and lifelong healthy habits.
The team delivered two large-scale Sport in the Park events at Rogerstone Park and Beechwood Park, with over 2,000 attendees enjoying a wide range of family activities, games and sporting opportunities.
The Community Sport and Wellbeing Team also worked in partnership with Newport City Council to support the city's National Play Day celebrations at Rodney Parade, helping children and families experience the importance of play, physical activity and social connection.
The team supported a number of community events aimed at promoting inclusion, culture and community wellbeing. This included supporting the Seeds of Hope Neurodiversity Sports Day, which brought together children and young people with additional needs and their families to enjoy a range of accessible sporting activities in a welcoming and supportive environment. Newport Live also supported the NYCA Welsh Yemeni Festival in Pillgwenlly, celebrating the city's rich cultural diversity through community activities, sport and physical activity while helping to strengthen local connections and encourage participation among residents of all ages.
(Momentwm Bike Ride - at Sport in the Park)
Something for Everyone – and Special Guests
The summer programme included a range of intensive swimming lessons at all levels across both Active Living Centre and Newport International Sports Village, a popular choice for those wanting their children to upskill faster and move up the Learn to Swim programme. In addition to lessons, Newport Live offered free swimming sessions, public swims, lane swims and of course the popular Family Swims, all of which run regularly throughout the year as well as during the holidays.
For those interested in racquet sports, Newport Tennis Centre offered both indoor and outdoor tennis camps as well as pickleball sessions and family tennis, with other new programmes launching over the summer too such as First Serve tennis. They also welcomed Yui Kamiji, a Japanese Professional Wheelchair Tennis player and the current Wimbledon Wheelchair Singles Champion to the Newport Tennis Centre at Newport International Sports Village in July, spending time with Newport Live’s own junior wheelchair tennis players and meeting the team.
As one of the most successful wheelchair tennis players in the world with 12 Grand Slam singles titles she’s also completed the prestigious career Golden Slam after winning Paralympic gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and everyone at Newport Live was thrilled to welcome her.
(Yui Jamiji pictured at Newport Tennis Centre)
Theatre & Arts this Summer
The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre welcomed thousands of visitors through its doors with an exciting summer programme. From £3.50 cinema screenings attracting more than 3,000 attendees, to family-fun live shows including Cat in the Hat, which delighted almost 400 audience members, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Their popular creative workshops inspired over 400 attendees providing opportunities for people of all ages to learn new skills, express their creativity and get involved in the arts.
The Riverfront Theatre also proudly hosted a free inclusive disco for children and young people with Additional Learning Needs (ALN), made possible through funding from the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Gwent.
The Riverfront Theatre launched its first ever Summer Market, bringing together a fantastic mix of independent traders, talented makers and local businesses, showcasing the very best of Newport's thriving creative community.
The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre's Autumn season is now in full swing, featuring a diverse programme of drama, dance, comedy, live music and pantomime. Alongside the latest blockbuster films in the cinema, audiences can enjoy a range of creative workshops and classes, including drama, dance, ukulele and circus skills, catering for all ages from toddlers to adults.
(Usher team at Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre)
Supporting Young People Beyond Sport
The Positive Futures programme continued to provide valuable support to young people throughout the holidays, delivering 29 sessions and engaging 564 individual children and young people.
The programme included a range of trips and experiences designed to broaden horizons, encourage participation and create positive opportunities for young people, including:
- Paddleboarding and kayaking at Keepers Pond and Brombil Reservoir
- Swimming sessions in Cardiff
- Ice skating in Cardiff
- Visits to Noah's Ark Zoo Farm
- Trips to Bristol Zoo Project
Alongside these experiences, the team delivered two Newport Inclusion and Cohesion Shield (NICS) football events, providing opportunities for young people to come together through sport, develop teamwork skills and build positive connections within their communities.
The Newport Live Positive Futures Team, with support from Team Wales, gave six young people from Newport the unforgettable opportunity to attend the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, inspiring future ambitions through the power of sport.
Ashton Hewitt, Positive Futures Ambassador said, "From start to finish Glasgow 2026 was brilliant, but personally nothing put more of a smile on my face than witnessing first-hand the experience the young people had. Taking them to the Games, showing them what's out there in the world beyond their doorstep and seeing the impact that had on them demonstrated the power of sport, the power of organisations taking social responsibility, and the power of giving people in difficult circumstances some trust and care."
Commonwealth Games
In addition to this visit another highlight of this summer’s programme was also the Commonwealth Games Send-Off in July, which saw hundreds of people get FREE tickets to watch the Commonwealth Games Track cycling athletes train at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in the run up to the games, with quizzes, prizes, Q & A’s and opportunities to find out more about track cycling. In addition, August saw a homecoming event, run in conjunction with Beicio Cymru as well as the launch of a brand new “Ride like a Champion” track cycling course for those who were inspired by the games. Team Wales had enormous success at the Commonwealth Games winning three gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.
Notably, Emma Finucane made history by becoming the first Welsh woman to win
three gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games, securing her third gold in the
women's keirin event. The team's performance was marked by strong individual and
team efforts, showcasing Wales' dominance in cycling at the event.
Investing in Future Careers
This summer Newport Live partnered with UK Youth Cymru as part of the Summer Jobs Programme, providing six young people with paid placements within the Community Sport and Wellbeing Team.
The placements provided participants with valuable workplace experience while supporting the delivery of community activities, events and programmes across the city.
A Summer of Positive Impact
Karl Reed, Community Sport and Wellbeing Manager at Newport Live said, "This summer has been a fantastic example of what can be achieved through strong partnerships, dedicated staff and a shared commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of communities across Newport. From holiday camps and family events to outreach activities and life-changing experiences for young people. Our team has worked incredibly hard to create opportunities that are inclusive, engaging and accessible for everyone. Achieving so much across the six-week holiday period is a tremendous achievement and demonstrates the demand for high-quality community sport and wellbeing provision in Newport."
Andrea Ovey, Director of Business Development at Newport Live said,
At Newport Live we aim to inspire our communities to become happier and healthier, which is why we're committed to providing opportunities that are accessible, inclusive and enjoyable for everyone. Whether it was taking part in sport, learning to swim, attending a theatre workshop, joining a family bike ride or experiencing a major sporting event, our goal was to ensure that every child and young person had the opportunity to be active, inspired and connected.
The scale of this year's programme and the thousands of participants involved is a testament to the dedication of our teams and partners. We are proud to play a role in supporting healthier, happier communities and creating positive experiences that can have a lasting impact long after the summer holidays have ended."
The success of the Summer Holiday Programme reflects Newport Live's ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for children, young people and families to be active, connected and supported within their local communities, and with the next holiday period approaching with October half term, there promises to be more in store from Newport Live.
