Fatboy Slim, Self Esteem and Bastille to headline Camp Bestival 2026 as festival unveils full family line-up

Camp Bestival presented by Debenhams, the UK’s biggest family festival, returns to Lulworth Castle in Dorset from Thursday 30th July to Sunday 2nd August 2026.

This year, there’s a seaside-themed “Festi-Holiday”, that mixes headline music with a huge programme of free family activities, wellbeing sessions as well as the usual mix of great music.

Fatboy Slim leads the star-studded three-day music bill

Legendary DJ and producer Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, marks his return to Camp Bestival by headlining Sunday 2nd August with the first-ever Fatboy Slim & Friends all-day Castle Stage takeover — a non-stop celebration built around surprise guests, culminating in the festival’s traditional fireworks finale.

Hip hop group De La Soul are among the names joining him on the day, alongside Black Sabbath tribute act Sabotage, party favourites Fleetmac Wood, and singer-songwriters Alison Limerick, Brooke Coombe, Ellur and Lucy Spraggan.

The Tibetan Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery will also perform, while family ravers can catch Fat Tony, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Utah Saints and the ever-popular Big Fish Little Fish.

Cook said the festival’s seaside theme this year made him “the most qualified” person to bring the authentic experience, joking that he’d be “bringing all my seaside friends” for the Castle Stage takeover. He also praised the event’s multigenerational appeal, describing the way children’s and adults’ festival experiences “co-exist in a very interestingly symbiotic way.”

Festival co-curator Rob da Bank, who has known Cook since interviewing him in the early days of Fatboy Slim in the 1990s, said handing him the whole main stage for a day reflects a friendship built on the “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” ethos the pair have shared for decades, promising Sunday would be “an off-the-hook spectacular finale.“

Fatboy Slim’s return caps a three-day music programme.

Friday 31st July opens with a “Wake Up and Workout” session with Joe Wicks on the Castle Stage, before pop force Self Esteem and veteran hitmaker Billy Ocean headline the evening.

They’re joined by Black Grape, Toploader, Wolf Culture and a 30th-anniversary takeover from drum & bass label Hospital Records featuring DJ Marky, Fred V and Degs.

Saturday 1st August sees rapper Example warm up the crowd for headliners Bastille, backed by Leftfield, drum & bass legends Fabio and Grooverider, and a Back To Mine takeover from Josh Wink and Fat Tony.

Slomo Wellbeing festival-within-a-festival returns

Alongside the music, Camp Bestival’s Slomo Wellbeing programme returns for 2026 with headliners Jasmine Hemsley, Joe Wicks, Zita West, Trish Whelan, Rosie Underwood, Jonni Pollard, Carla DiMattina and Mama Shrooms leading three days of wellbeing sessions for all ages.

The programme spans several curated spaces: the Slomo Sanctuary, offering paid sessions with saunas, ice baths and wood-fired hot tubs; the Slo Studio, hosting free soundbaths, breathwork and meditation curated by Rob da Bank with contributions from Jasmine Hemsley, Rosie Underwood and the David Lynch Foundation; the Food Is Medicine Camp, curated by Mama Shrooms founder Gemma Ogston; the Dreamweavers Garden, offering shamanic yoga and breathwork curated with Trish Whelan; and the Yoga Shala, curated by Laura Lotus, covering everything from restorative yoga to laughter yoga. Paid one-on-one treatments including massage, reiki and reflexology are also available to book in advance or on-site.

Rob and Josie da Bank said the wellbeing offering “steps up another notch” every year, adding that 2026 brings new additions including sessions led by Rob’s own meditation teacher, Jonni Pollard, and his wife Carla DiMattina.

Beyond the music

As in previous years, Camp Bestival’s four-day programme extends well beyond its stages.

Free activities include food masterclasses, immersive theatre, circus performances, comedy, author talks and live podcasts, family sports, outdoor adventures through Wild Tribe, a dedicated under-5s area in Little Town, and arts and crafts throughout the site.

New additions for 2026 include The Allotment, a gardening collaboration with presenter August Beth; an on-site bakery and bread school, The Earth’s Crust, run by The Breaducator; beekeeping and heritage craft workshops; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre workshops; a Royal Society Summer Science pop-up; and Taskmaster Education sessions.

Now in its 18th year, Camp Bestival was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife team Rob and Josie da Bank and has won Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards six times. Debenhams returns as headline partner for a second year; Debenhams Group CEO Dan Finley said the retailer was “thrilled to return” after what he described as a fantastic debut in 2025, adding that the partnership had brought “the heart of Debenhams to life in a vibrant way.”

Camp Bestival presented by Debenhams runs from Thursday 30th July to Sunday 2nd August 2026 at Lulworth Castle, Dorset.

Tickets and further information are available at campbestival.net.