London’s Waterworks Festival expands to two days for 2026 edition

London’s Waterworks Festival has announced its full lineup for 2026, alongside news that the event will expand to two full days for the first time. The sixth edition takes place at Gunnersbury Park on Sept. 12-13, marking a significant step forward for a festival that has built its reputation on underground curation and community.

The move to a two-day format follows five years of steady growth. Festival co-founder and Love International boss Dave Harvey said the expansion reflects confidence in where the event now stands.

“Waterworks was started to put the focus on the underground artists at the heart of UK club culture,” Harvey said. “Now in our sixth year we’re proud to have been able to grow alongside and continue to support a scene that’s going from strength to strength.”

Saturday’s programming is built around the deep musical relationships that have always been central to the Waterworks identity. Bradley Zero and Erol Alkan bring their shared history in UK club culture to a back-to-back set, while Christian AB and Craig Richards pair up in what should be one of the day’s anchor performances. Eris Drew, Midland, Modeselektor and Leon Vynehall fill out a Saturday bill that also includes live sets from Octo Octa, Decius, Alex Kassian and Reptant.

On Sunday, Waterworks handed curating duties to five organizations that each carry their own distinct history and identity within UK club culture. Outlook Festival, DaMetalMessiah, Keep Hush, ec2a and Rupture all contribute, and the result is a day that moves from drum and bass history through grime, dubstep, garage and beyond.

LTJ Bukem, DJ Storm and Tim Reaper anchor the day’s connection to the foundations of UK bass music, while Special Request and Sully, Call Super and Objekt, and Djrum bring more contemporary takes on the genre.

Resident Advisor is also marking its 25th anniversary with a presence on the Siren stage across both days. Saturday’s programming will be co-curated with the festival team, while Sunday sees RA partner with DaMetalMessiah for a stage takeover

Across five stages and 83 sets, Waterworks 2026 is the most ambitious version of what the festival has always been trying to do. Sound and production remain central to the experience, with investment in each stage’s audio and layout designed to make the spaces feel purposeful rather than interchangeable.

Festival co-founder Simon Denby said the expansion gave the team room to dig into corners of the scene they hadn’t previously been able to spotlight.

“By expanding to two days, we have been excited to dig deeper and go further into the incredible breadth of talent that makes up London’s sonic palette,” Denby said.

Presale tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. GMT. Saturday tickets start from £42.50 plus booking fee, Sunday from £25 plus booking fee, and weekend passes from £75 plus booking fee. Full details are available at waterworksfestival.co.uk.