Short answer: Saturday 19 September 2026 at Great Western Beach, Newquay. The record to beat is 110 surfers riding the same wave, set in South Africa in 2009 and unbroken since. Riding costs £10 (£5 under 16); watching from the beach is free. Beach opens 15:00, the attempt runs 17:00–18:00.
On Saturday 19 September 2026, Newquay will try to do something no beach has managed in seventeen years: put more than 110 surfers on the same wave at the same time.
This is Earthwave, and it's coming to Great Western Beach for the first time. Here's what's actually happening, and — the bit their own site can't tell you — how to do it as a day out in Newquay.
The Guinness World Record for the most surfers riding the same wave stands at 110. It was set at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town in 2009 and has stood ever since.
The reason it's difficult isn't finding 110 surfers. It's that every one of them has to catch the same wave, stand up, and ride it for a qualifying distance, all at once, with adjudicators watching. One wave. Everybody up. That's why it has survived seventeen years of attempts.
The story starts on Muizenberg beach in Cape Town in 2005. Bali had just set the record with 40 surfers. Father-and-son pair Paul and Dene Botha, of Kahuna Promotions, heard about it and reckoned they could do better.
Later that year they rallied the local surf community and ran South Africa's first Earthwave. A three-hour gathering was the plan; a world record with 70 surfers was the result.
Then it kept going. 77 the following year. Then 90. Then 99. Then, in 2009, 110 — the number that still stands.
By its peak, Earthwave had grown from a three-hour meet-up into one of South Africa's biggest beach festivals: two days, thousands of visitors, surf competitions, tandem surfing, longboarding, beach volleyball, the World Touch Rugby Championships, live music, food stalls and an after-party that became a festival in its own right. The last South African Earthwave ran in 2015.
Newquay is where it starts again.
That reserve day matters. This is Cornwall in September, and the whole thing depends on there being a rideable wave. If you're travelling for it, keep the Sunday free.
Worth noting the shape of that: the actual attempt is one hour in the middle of a five-hour beach event. If you're coming to watch rather than surf, arriving around 16:00 gets you the build-up, the attempt and the announcement without a long wait.
Tickets are on the Earthwave site:
The hire option matters more than it looks. It means you don't need to own a board or own a wetsuit to be part of a world record — £30 all in for an adult with everything provided. For a family with a couple of teenagers, that's a genuinely reasonable price for something they'll talk about for years.
If you're not going in the water, the beach is the place to be and it costs nothing. Great Western has a natural amphitheatre feel — the beach sits below the headland, so there's elevated ground behind giving a clear view over the line-up.
For height, the walk up towards Towan Headland gives you a wider view of the whole bay, though you'll be further from the atmosphere. The beach itself is where the music, food and noise will be.
This is the bit that will catch people out. Newquay in mid-September still has visitors, and an event pulling a crowd to a central beach on a Saturday afternoon will fill the car parks.
Great Western is close to the town centre, so the central car parks are your realistic option, and they'll be under pressure from mid-afternoon. Arriving well before the 15:00 beach opening is the sensible move — an hour early costs you nothing when there's food and music from three o'clock anyway.
If you're coming from further afield, Newquay has a branch line station a short walk from the town centre, which sidesteps parking entirely. Check the last train back before committing to the evening celebration.
Earthwave is presented by Earniversity, with a partner list that's genuinely rooted in Newquay rather than bolted on: Great Western Beach, Love Newquay, Newquay BID and Newquay Boardriders as official surf partner. Wavelength Magazine is media partner, and The Wave Project — a surf therapy charity — is the official charity partner.
That last one is worth knowing. The Wave Project uses surfing to support young people's mental health, and it operates in Cornwall.
The attempt is one hour. If you're travelling for it, there's a full day either side.
Before: Great Western sits within a few minutes' walk of Towan and Tolcarne, so a morning on the beaches costs nothing. Rock pooling at Little Fistral works well at low tide if you've got children and time to fill.
Food: Newquay's food scene has improved considerably. BUTTER does sourdough baked on site and opens at 7am; NALU is good for breakfast near the seafront. For after the announcement, the town's pubs and restaurants will be busy — booking is sensible on an event Saturday.
If the weather turns: the reserve day is Sunday, so a wet Saturday isn't a wasted trip. Our guide to Newquay when the surf is too rough covers the sheltered alternatives.
Honestly — if you're anywhere near Cornwall that weekend, yes. World record attempts are rare, this one has a seventeen-year-old target and genuine history behind it, and the barrier to taking part is £10 and a hired wetsuit.
And even if the record doesn't fall, you'll have spent an afternoon on a Cornish beach with music, food and a few hundred people all trying to do the same slightly ridiculous thing at once. That's not a bad Saturday.
Check the Earthwave website for the latest on timings and whether the event has moved to the Sunday reserve date. Schedules are subject to change and ticket holders are notified directly — but if you're going along to watch, the website and their social channels are where the weather call will be announced.
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