Active Thames Festival
11-12 July 2026
In collaboration with Paddle UK
This summer, Active Thames and partners are inviting clubs to take part in a weekend of activity from their home venues across London, Kent and Essex.
Inspired by Paddle UK’s successful Birmingham Waterways Festival, the inaugural Active Thames Festival aims to see multiple watersport sessions on offer to the general public. One affordable, family-friendly festival weekend, advertised centrally on one platform, brought to life by sports clubs all along the tidal Thames and connected waterways.
We know that many communities in London, Kent and Essex haven’t experienced the benefits of being active on our waterways, and we hope this festival can encourage people to explore and enjoy their local waterways.
Get involved!
Active Thames Festival is a great opportunity for your club to generate interest, raise awareness, and increase participation in the activities you offer.
If your kayaking, canoeing, rowing, sailing, paddleboarding, swimming, walking, running (or other!) club would like to get involved with hosting a session(s), please register via email to [email protected] and we’ll be in touch to guide you through setting up your event.
The impact from Birmingham
In Birmingham, this came to life in the summer of 2025 through a weekend of watersports, including bell boating, kayaking, sailing, ergo rowing and powerboating. Delivered across eight community hubs along the city’s canal network and Bartley Green Reservoir, and engaging over 1,020 participants from diverse backgrounds, the festival showed what’s possible when clubs, communities and partners come together with a shared purpose; breaking down barriers, opening up opportunities, and creating meaningful first experiences on the water for those who need it most.
This spirit of collaboration didn’t just deliver activity, it helped tackle inequalities in sport, particularly for young people in underserved communities, while demonstrating how watersports can be a powerful “solution multiplier” for wider societal challenges. It stands as an inspiring example of what can be achieved through collective action.
The Active Thames Festival now has the opportunity to build on this momentum by bringing London's watersports clubs together around a shared vision, reaching new communities, and creating a more inclusive, accessible and connected watersports offer across the tidal Thames and associated waterways.
List of clubs already registered to take part (and growing!):
- Poplar HARCA / Oar & Explore
- East London Canal Access Network CIC
- London Youth Rowing
- Paddle Richmond
- Cygnet Rowing Club
- Gravesend Sailing Club
- Active 360
- Globe Rowing Club
FAQs
Active Thames Festival will be advertised on the Active Thames website. We’ll also be working on a marketing plan to reach across our partners and networks – and we’ll encourage you to spread the word too!
Events and bookings will be hosted via Played – an open data discovery and booking platform for participation sports. You will be able to tailor the details of your event listing on the booking website.
No. Multiple sessions across one or both days are of course welcome, but even if you can only host one session on one of the days, we’d love to have you involved!
Active Thames Festival is all about celebrating activity on the water and improving access to that activity. We appreciate that not all clubs can offer activities to juniors or children, and sign-ups can be tailored to whichever groups your club can accommodate.
Active Thames Festival is all about celebrating activity on the water and improving access to that activity. Sessions should be free or affordable. Should you wish to charge, our recommended price point would be £5 per person; this hopefully strikes a balance between affordability and reducing no-shows.
You’ll be able to set a maximum number of registrations per session via the Played platform, where you’ll also be able to keep track of real-time sign-ups.
Whilst no one ever wants to cancel an event, should you be in a position where low numbers would make it difficult to go ahead, please contact us.
Sessions should be hosted within your club’s usual operating model. Budget is available to help deliver the sessions, if needed. Please reach out to us to discuss.
As always, safety on the river is paramount. If you need to cancel the session, we understand.
© 2026 Active Thames