Jane Austen Festival Summer Balls 2026

About the Summer Balls

Each year the Jane Austen Festival holds two delightful Summer Balls, one in May and one in June, outside of and separate to the main Jane Austen Festival in September. Tickets for the Balls generally include entrance, the dancing, entertainment, and a light supper. There is normally a dance workshop earlier in the day for people to brush up on their Regency dancing moves.

In 2026 we will again be holding two Summer Balls to give as much opportunity to dance and attend a Regency Ball as possible. Please read through the full details of each Summer Ball to ensure you have all the relevent information required when booking.

All Summer Ball tickets will go on sale at 13:00 GMT on Thursday 29th January 2026.

There is no priority booking, both events will go straight to general sale. Be swift- last year they sold out within minutes- and do not tarry!

Further Ball informartion & booking tips

Both Summer Balls will be held in the Bath Guildhall; the dancing will be led by Liz Bartlett of the Jane Austen Dancers of Bath, with live music provided by Beau's Band. A mid-evening break will include a buffet supper. For both events Regency attire will be mandatory.

- The Summer Balls are mandatory Regency costumed events and we request that all ladies and gentlemen dress in the style of the Regency or 18th Century period.

- Flat shoes must be worn. Heels are not permitted within the Ballroom. 

- Tickets for both Summer Balls will be offered straight to general sale, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Festival Friends will not receive priority booking on these tickets.
Please be aware that we are expecting high demand for these tickets.

- The maximum number of tickets you can purchase per transaction is 4, so if you are a larger group, it may be a good idea to have multiple people booking 4 tickets at the same time.

- We advise that you have your preferred payment method set up and ready to go on your device before tickets go on sale, to avoid any delays. Apple or Google Pay historically has been the fastest way to avoid delays caused by banking approvals and verifications.

- Please also note: For our Regency Balls under 14s are not permitted inside the event venue, and attendees aged 14 - 18 must have their own ticket and be accompanied by a Regency costumed adult who also has their own ticket.

*All Jane Austen Festival tickets are non-refundable. f the Summer Ball is sold out with a waiting list, you may contact the Festival if you would like to re-sell your ticket. However this MUST be done through the Festival, we will not accept any tickets for events that have been sold on separately. If the Festival does manage to re-sell your ticket you will be refunded, minus a 10% per ticket administrative charge.

Venue: The Guildhall Bath, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW