Hundreds brave the rain to enjoy Newport Big Splash 2024

A city-wide celebration of local art and entertainment, Big Splash was split into five distinct sections across Newport from 11am.

Big Splash is seen as a popular starting point for many young families with the school summer holidays starting, according to many of the volunteering team at Newport Live, the organisers of this beloved event. 

Split between five sections - Splashtonbury at the Riverfront Theatre, Usk Plaza, John Frost Square, the Newport Now Zone (covering Waterstones, Gallery 57 and The Place on High Street), and the Celebrate Stage at the end of the Big Splash Boulevard, there's something for everyone at Big Splash. 

Despite the poor weather forecast, the turnout for the first day of the event on Saturday was great. 

Kids funfair at the Newport Big Splash (Image: NQ) The event runs over the entire weekend, from 11am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. 

Former Children's Laureate, recent recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of South Wales, and Newport local Connor Allen opened the event with a performance of a poem he had titled 'My Newport', written by students from St Andrews Primary School. 

Chair of the Newport Live trustees Kevin Ward then welcomed everyone with a brief speech, thanking the event's sponsors including the Welsh Government, Arts Council of Wales, Newport Bus, Friars Walk, Waterstones, Newport Now, the Mercure Hotel and Newport council. 

Special guests including Newport and Islwyn's recently elected MP Ruth Jones and Newport East's Senedd member John Griffiths were in attendance at the Big Splash Welcome Breakfast from 10.30am, with guests treated to coffee and pastries before the festivities began. 

Mr Ward said of the event: "We love to see everyone get out here and have some fun.

"I think some people don't realise all the organisers are volunteers who work really hard, so it's great to see so many people coming to take advantage."

Local poet Connor Allen opened the event with his poem 'My Newport' (Image: NQ) The weekend has also been notable for its commitment to inclusivity this year. 

One volunteer told the Argus: "We've really tried to focus on making it suitable for everyone this year.

"We've got a number of performances in bilingual, while some are audio-described or with a British Sign Language interpreter present."

People who needed an audio-description guide could pick one up from the Riverfront Theatre box office. 

Visitors were treated to a performance debut from Ballet Cymru of their new dance Daydreams and Jellybeans outside The Riverfront to begin the event, with numerous other dance and performative arts on display throughout the day both outside and inside the theatre. 

Ballet Cyrmu debuted their new performance 'Daydreams and Jellybeans' (Image: NQ) This included an interpretive dance piece called the Bench by Krystal Lowe and her dance students, magic shows from Magic Rob, the Tiny Circus and The Zoo Keepers. 

Away from The Riverfront theatre, a children's funfair with rides, bungee jumping and classic funfair games is available just after the Newport City Footbridge, while on Usk Plaza and John Frost Square, there were a range of performances, including magic shows, from Dan the Hat and Juma, and dance performances from groups such as Kitsch and Sync Pseudo Synchro. 

There was even space for a delightfully-odd dog show from comedian Kevin Tickles Dogs. 

Leila and Catrin were having fun with their balloon animals from Newport Bus (Image: NQ)

The Celebrate Stage on the Big Splash Boulevard was home to performances from Webster and Jones Guided Tours, NuWave Dance and the Take a Breath Choir, among many others, on Saturday. 

On Sunday, it will be the site of the 20th birthday party of the Riverfront from 1pm with plenty of performances and entertainment for the whole family. 

If you're after something a bit quieter, then the Newport Now Zone is perfect for you. 

Stretching from Newport Now past Waterstones past Commercial Street and up to The Place on High Street, there were a variety of creative writing and poetry workshops going on throughout the weekend, including with writers such as Connor Allen, Claire Fayer and P.C Bell.