Victorious Festival 2025 once again transformed Southsea Common into one of the UK’s best seaside music festivals.

As I write this, the incredible Yardboiz team are already returning the site to its original state, but for three unforgettable days, Portsmouth played host to Kings of Leon, Bloc Party, Queens of the Stone Age, Craig David and thousands of music fans.

Gone are the days when I’d roll up to the gates mid-afternoon, buoyed by a few pre-drinks with friends. These days, we arrive not long after opening, just as the site begins to stir. It’s the perfect time to explore and soak up the atmosphere with our two- and five-year-olds before the larger crowds descend on Southsea Common.

I adored last year’s event and had been looking forward to this one ever since—especially after they dropped the full line-up just before Christmas. It was refreshing to see everything announced at once rather than in staggered phases over several months.

Those big names didn’t disappoint either.

In many ways, it was business as usual this year. Much of the site looked the same as previous festivals, and regulars like myself knew exactly where we were. The biggest change was the VIP section, which moved to the opposite side of the stage due to ongoing sea-defence works.

Its previous placement had been perfect. The dedicated entrance was convenient, and I loved the spacious layout and elevated viewing platform. I always think back to being up there with my late Nan, watching Kaiser Chiefs in 2018. She wasn’t one for festivals, but she was a fan of theirs, and she absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was fantastic, and everyone around us made her feel so welcome. Looking back now, it feels like I was watching her tick something off her bucket list, which was heart-warming. So in her memory, of course I had to catch them this year as well.

This year, the Victorious Festival VIP area was much smaller, and it felt it. There was far less room to breathe, and it became somewhere to quickly grab a drink or use the toilets rather than the social hub it had grown into over the years. Hopefully, it’s only a temporary compromise while the sea-defence work continues.

The one aspect of the festival that continues to concern me, however, is the increasing commercialisation. I completely understand that festivals have become significantly more expensive to stage. Booking headline acts, paying staff, improving infrastructure and ensuring security all come at a cost. Victorious has to make money to survive. But there is a fine balance.

Every year, it seems another section of the site is given over to corporate activations, branded experiences or premium upgrades. The raised viewing area is always a great perk of the VIP ticket, but that has now become an added extra. It always had a great atmosphere, but as I gazed over, it very much looked gentrified and soulless.

None of these is inherently bad, but there comes a point where they begin to chip away at the open, community feel that has always set Victorious apart from many larger festivals.

The Real Ale area was always a favourite of mine, and many others. It would be fantastic if it were to make a return in 2026, especially due to the large number of top-quality breweries in the city and around the south coast. However, given the event’s deal with suppliers, I imagine that the organiser’s hands are tied.

The same applies to food and drink prices. Festival-goers expect to pay a little more, but there are moments where it feels like you’re being tested rather than catered for. Thankfully, the quality on offer remains excellent, particularly from the local independent traders that continue to be one of Victorious’ biggest strengths.

As a self-confessed cheeseburger aficionado, I always make a point of seeking out the best burger on offer at any festival. This year, that honour went to Nanny Bill’s. Their Classic Cheese – a double beef patty topped with American cheese, ketchup, mustard and pickles, all served in a seeded bun – was about as close to the perfect American cheeseburger as you’ll find on a festival site.

It wasn’t just the quality of the ingredients that stood out; the care taken in its preparation was evident too, with every burger neatly assembled and beautifully presented. At £11, it represented excellent value for money and was more than enough to keep me going for the rest of the afternoon. Fries were available as an optional extra, but with temperatures soaring, I decided to give them a miss.

As someone experiencing Victorious Festival through young children for the second year running, I perhaps appreciated that more than ever. While I inevitably missed many of the bands I wanted to see, there was something equally rewarding about watching my children dance at the Kids Stages, discovering new activities, and experiencing the excitement that only a festival can bring.

One of my favourite discoveries of the weekend came entirely by chance. I stumbled across She’s In Parties on the Under the Trees stage on Friday evening, and they immediately grabbed my attention. Thankfully, I’d arrived early enough to catch most of their set.

The band’s sound is often compared to The Cure, and it’s easy to understand why. For me, though, they’re more like the offspring of The Cure and CHVRCHES – blending shimmering synths, soaring melodies and atmospheric post-punk into something that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly modern.

In the early 2000s, two albums barely left my CD player: Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm and Kings of Leon’s Youth & Young Manhood. So, when Sunday’s headliners were announced, there was never any doubt I’d be there—and thankfully, neither band disappointed.

Bloc Party took to the Common Stage as the penultimate act of the weekend, opening with So Here We Are. It was the perfect soundtrack to the golden-hour sunshine overlooking Southsea beach. With Silent Alarm celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was fitting that the band leaned heavily into what remains, for many, their defining album. Two decades on, those songs have lost none of their impact when played live.

Kings of Leon then brought Victorious Festival to a close with a 90-minute set packed with their biggest hits. While I’ll always have a soft spot for the raw, garage-rock sound of their early records, there’s no denying the strength of the anthems they’ve produced since. Crowd favourites such as Use Somebody, Pyro and On Call had thousands singing along, providing a fitting finale to the weekend.

If I had one complaint, it would be that Youth & Young Manhood didn’t get quite enough love. I’d happily have swapped in California Waiting or Red Morning Light, although hearing Molly’s Chambers live certainly softened the blow.

It would be remiss of me not to touch on the controversy that dominated the event on social media.

Then came the incident that would dominate discussion for the rest of the weekend. The Mary Wallopers’ set was brought to an abrupt end after little more than half a song, and what followed quickly became a story that overshadowed much of Victorious Festival itself.

In the immediate aftermath, there was confusion over why the performance had been stopped. Early reports suggested it was due to pro-Palestinian chants, while the band later maintained that the issue was the presence of a Palestinian flag on stage.

Victorious initially cited its policy prohibiting flags on stage before later acknowledging that the policy had not been communicated clearly enough and apologising for the way the situation had been handled.

The controversy sparked an immediate backlash. Several artists, including The Last Dinner Party and Cliffords, withdrew from the festival in protest, while others used their performances to criticise the organisers’ handling of the situation. Victorious later explained that its approach to flags had been influenced by heightened security concerns following incidents involving anti-refugee protests elsewhere in the city, but by then the damage had already been done.

Whatever the intention, the episode escalated remarkably quickly. What should have been remembered as another successful weekend of music instead became dominated by a dispute that played out both on-site and across social media.

The beauty of Victorious. It changes as you do without detracting from your experience.

In my twenties, it was about squeezing in as many bands as possible and ending the night singing my way back through Southsea. In my forties, it’s about arriving early, making memories with my family and occasionally managing to catch a favourite artist between ice creams, toilet trips and visits to the funfair.

Would I change it?

Not for the world.

Victorious Festival remains one of the highlights of Portsmouth’s calendar. It continues to punch well above its weight, attracting world-class artists while celebrating the city that hosts it.

But as the stages disappear, the fencing comes down, and Southsea Common returns to normal, one thing is already certain.

I am already looking forward to Victorious Festival 2026.

Website: victoriousfestival.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/VictoriousFestival
Twitter: twitter.com/VictoriousFest
Instagram: instagram.com/victoriousfestival

Photos: Victorious Festival & Strong Island