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The Big Splash festival, an amazing Outdoor Arts Festival in Wales, provides access & opportunities to interact & enjoy the arts in the heart of the city. We want to further expand the festival welcoming over 20,000 people providing the communities of Newport, and Wales with the free festival to kick start the Summer Holiday. Offering increased variety of arts zones throughout the city centre with eclectic activity curated for all to experience how they choose, importantly for free and for all.
Newport Live have been working closely with KidCare4U one of Newport's key local community organisations to increase the opportunities for females of Muslim faith to access sport, leisure and cultural facilities. This has focussed primarily on the introduction of a highly popular female social swimming group and this has prompted the requirements to further expand the services and increase the opportunity and ability of Newport's ethnically diverse communities to access regular physical activity
We will provide free arts and craft activities at The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre. This will be a day-long session of free arts and crafts for people to drop-in in a convenient accessible location. This breaks down barriers to engagement with the arts and supports the wellbeing of the diverse community across the city of Newport. This would take place monthly with increased sessions throughout school holidays.
Using sport and physical activity as a tool to engage and support individuals struggling with poor mental health and wellbeing. We have delivered an over 18s sport and support session for a number of years providing beneficial support to adults in need and a place where they feel safe and have a sense of belonging. We would like to continue growing and developing this session and introduce an equivalent offer for under 18s.
The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre is thrilled to announce the return of Wales’ largest free outdoor arts festival, Big Splash, taking place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July 2025. Once again, Newport city centre will be transformed into a vibrant hub of creativity and celebration, following a turnout of over 25,000 visitors last year. The two-day festival features live music, street theatre, dance, workshops, crafts, and activities for all ages and is free to attend.
We aim to raise funds for a new cinema projector and launch a community cinema project in Newport. This initiative will support sustainability through improved energy efficiency and address the need for local, affordable, and accessible entertainment. The project will create a welcoming space for families and diverse communities, with a diverse film programme that reflects Newport's rich cultural tapestry, enhancing social cohesion, wellbeing, and cultural understanding.
Newport Live is committed to reducing the barriers to physical activity. Easy access pool steps would allow individuals with disabilities and older people with mobility issues easy access into the Regional Pool at NISV. The Easy access steps would allow individuals to access the pool with dignity and importantly independently.
Working with community safety partners (Gwent Police, SWFRS, Newport City Council) Newport Live's Positive Futures small team of 'trusted' youth & sport workers, will LEAD a programme of engagement and 'added value' youth events at Halloween and Bonfire Oct peak ASB/Crime periods in Pillgwenlly, St Julians, Alway, Bettws, Ringland, and Duffryn to support a multi-agency approach to positively engage, mentor, and deter children and young people in Newport during this challenging time.
This programme is geared to support 3 creative disruptors from within the community of Newport. By supporting 3 new artistic seeds of today to become the foundations of tomorrow, this idea looks to ask the question "What is the importance of art & culture and how does that transcend between communities and demographics?" Through financial support, resources & mentorship this will encourage change within them & provide feedback to actively change the cultural landscape of Newport.
Creation of a Newport Live training academy providing an accessible route to training and employment opportunities, with particular attention to the sport, leisure, art and culture sector. The project aims to equip young people and adults with the necessary skills to access future employment opportunities, whereby reducing the financial barriers to pursuing core industry qualifications. All attendees will receive mentoring support from colleagues in their chosen pathway.
Newport Live is seeking funding to widen access to community focused health and fitness provision, targetted at econmincally challenged residents. The provision would aim to expand one of our current programmes to increase the opportuntiy and places available to access high quaity, strucutured provision on a weekly basis. This would be acheived through the relocation of provision to a larger venue but also improve access to equipment through self powered options.
This project proposes the installation of a temporary, pop-up padel tennis courts on an unused outdoor tennis court at Newport Tennis Centre. Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in Europe, combining elements of tennis and squash. The courts will activate recreational space, create new opportunities for inclusive physical activity, and encourage community engagement through structured programming, open play, and school/youth outreach sessions.
The Community Outreach Programme combines two complementary initiatives designed to increase tennis participation across Newport. It includes a Primary Schools Outreach Programme, and a Community Tennis Programme based in local parks. Together, these projects aim to introduce tennis to children aged 5–11 and engage wider community members by delivering accessible, inclusive tennis coaching in schools and public spaces.
The CymruVelo Track Cycling Event is a nationally recognised, high-performance cycling competition held annually in Wales. Entering its third year, the event has grown into a flagship occasion on the UK cycling calendar, attracting top-tier domestic and international athletes. Hosted in a world-class velodrome, the event not only delivers elite sport but also generates tangible benefits for local communities, economic development, and youth engagement in physical activity.
The Cycling Team proposes a three-part youth engagement programme aimed at increasing access to cycling for school aged children across Newport. The project seeks funding to deliver school-based cycling activities and dedicated Velodrome track sessions, developing skills, confidence, and long-term interest in physical activity. This initiative will enhance young people's health, promote cycling as a sport and sustainable transport option, and make use of Newport’s World class cycling venue
At Newport Live we are keen to create a walking tour of Newport to showcase the rich history & culture across the city, important whether you are a local or a visitor, keen to learn more. The aim is to announce this at the Big Splash, engage with local people to help create the tour, also working with registered tour guides in the city to support tours at key times throughout the year. Once created the tour will be hosted online with income directly supporting community arts/culture development
The Riverfront Theatre seeks funding to launch a new, inclusive cultural programme co-created with local communities. Building on annual events like Black History 365, International Women’s Day and Lunar New Year, we’ll collaborate with Sudanese, Polish, Chinese, Hindu, and LGBTQ+ communities in Newport to develop year-round participatory arts and launch new celebration events, fostering shared ownership and create a vibrant cultural hub in Newport.
Newport Live is committed to reducing the barriers to physical activity. A Poolpod would allow individuals with disabilities and older people with mobility issues easy access into the Regional Pool at NISV. The Poolpod allows individuals to access the pool with dignity and importantly independently. A Poolpod is a poolside lift that lowers individuals into a pool and returns them to poolside safely.
“An Art A Day” is a creative wellbeing programme offering daily, free and low-cost creative activities to Newport residents of all ages, focusing on isolated, marginalised and economically disadvantaged communities.
Drag'n Dance is a bold, joyful new project led by The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre in Newport, offering weekly inclusive dance sessions and creative workshops for adults with additional learning needs (ALN). The programme leads to a shared celebratory stage performance on 13th December 2025 with the House of Deviants drag troupe. This project champions equity, creativity, and visibility.
Create a community of volunteers to support the varied City wide events and programmes of Newport Live. These would include the large cultural and artistic events and the sporting events that take place within Newport each year. A second volunteering opportunity would see Volunteers being deployed to support Sporting and physical activity programmes within the Leisure facilities.
Replacement of the traditional motorbike used for moto-paced sessions at the National Velodrome of Wales with an environmentally friendly e-motorbike. This would reduce environmental impact within the facility, increase sustainability and provide greater health benefits for spectators, customers and wider attendees of the venue, in addition to increasing revenue generation opportunities.
Newport Live is seeking funding to widen access to equipment that meets the needs of current and future members. The equipment aims to expand the offer at one of our primary venues increasing the opportunity to access high quality, structured provision on a weekly basis. Installation of a bespoke range of Glutebuilder equipment would provide access to state-of-the-art equipment that provides high quality training experiences while establishing confidence &protection of modesty for all users.
We would like to adapt The Riverfront’s workshops 2 & 3 into focused, multipurpose spaces that are accessible, inclusive, and friendly, removing barriers to the arts and specialised equipment. Guided by consultation with lived experience, the rooms will focus on print & digital design with an accessible setup, equipped with adaptive furniture, a conference screen, tablets and shared resources. These transformed spaces will create welcoming hubs for all to facilitate & develop their crafts.
Our project aims to make pantomime accessible to everyone by removing financial barriers, especially at Christmas time when many families face extra financial pressures. By funding free tickets for individuals and families who might otherwise be unable to attend, we will ensure more people across our community can share in the joy, laughter, and festive spirit of live theatre.
We’re making The Riverfront Theatre a truly accessible and welcoming space for everyone. Funding will help us enhance disabled access with sensory furniture and lighting to create calm, neurodivergent-friendly areas, new digital signage for clearer wayfinding, and improved pre-visit information and support for disabled and neurodivergent audiences. This project will remove barriers, empower independence, and ensure everyone can enjoy the magic of live performance.
We would like to launch an enhanced and improved visitor experience capturing the impact and outcomes from the activity that takes place in the velodrome. This would start at 2025 and look forward. Over the coming years we also want to look back and capture the history of the velodrome, offering a great additional reason for people to visit the Wales national facility, Sports Tourism is an ever expanding opportunity to welcome visitors to the city with significant economic impact.
Colour In Kindness a creative wellbeing campaign to beat the January blues. Before and after Christmas, The Riverfront will distribute free creative and sensory art packs to individuals and community groups—each designed to spread joy, kindness, and connection. Deliveries by professional singers, artists, and street performers will bring surprise moments of happiness leading up to “Blue Monday,” the year’s saddest day on 19 January.
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