BH Live, a registered charity and one of the UK’s leading leisure and cultural trusts, is celebrating another successful year.
It has seen rising participation in physical activity in the sports and leisure centres it operates, an increase in cultural and business events, and the completion of several major investment projects to improve public facilities. It was also the organisation’s 15th anniversary.
Operating leisure centres, sports facilities, and cultural venues across Dorset, Hampshire, and in Croydon, BH Live continues to deliver on its charitable mission: helping more people live healthier, more active, and more connected lives for greater wellbeing.
The charity’s successes are reflected in its latest Annual Review – read online.
15 years of community impact
In May 2025, BH Live celebrated 15 years of bringing people together through leisure, sport, culture, events, and community programmes.
As well as promoting community health and wellbeing, and being a major employer in leisure and events, this also generates millions of pounds in economic benefit and social value for local communities.
This year also saw BH Live awarded a new contract to manage sport and leisure services in Southampton, extending its impact across the South and welcoming hundreds of new colleagues into the organisation.
As a registered charity and NPDO (non-profit distributing organisation) every penny of surplus is reinvested into running and improving event venues, centres and services for public benefit. Over the past 15 years, BH Live has invested more than £20 million into protecting and improving public facilities, from upgraded gyms and pools to modernised event spaces, sustainable technologies, and vibrant cafés and social spaces.
This helps BH Live’s council partners to safeguard essential public services and maintain high standards of delivery, saving the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds in operational and maintenance costs.
Growing participation in physical activity and improving community health
In 2024/25, thousands of people joined BH Live Active, committing to taking part in regular gym sessions, swimming and group exercise classes. Leisure centres also saw strong pay‑as‑you‑go usage and impressive turnouts at free community open days. It’s clear that more people want easy access to high‑quality health and fitness facilities.
Partnerships with local and national clubs, governing bodies, and community organisations continue to strengthen pathways into sport and support long‑term participation in tennis, swimming, gymnastics, badminton, football and more.
BH Live generated more than £26 million in social value across Bournemouth and Portsmouth, supporting healthier lifestyles, reducing health inequalities, and helping people feel stronger, happier, and more connected through exercise. This vital community pathway into self-care also helps to ease pressure on services such as the NHS.
Its specialist health and wellbeing programmes are supporting people with long‑term health conditions or injuries to return to physical activity. This includes more than 5,500 exercise referral appointments delivered through its exercise referral scheme.
Encourage young people into regular exercise remain a key focus. To make leisure centres even more appealing to young people, BH Live has invested in new pool and sports hall inflatable attractions and expanded its junior activities programme to include a wider range of group classes and fun sessions.
Its Swimming Academy has delivered 500+ hours of lessons every week to more than 7,000 learners of all ages, while 700+ people aged from 3-17 took part in weekly Littledown Juniors football sessions. Portsmouth Gymnastics Centre also continued to thrive, welcoming 1,500+ visits every week.
Portsmouth Tennis Centre also enjoyed another exceptional year, maintaining occupancy levels above 90% through high-quality coaching, sports camps, free community open days, friendly competitions, and its Ace Academy for aspiring young players. Selected from more than 2,000 nominations across 25 categories, Portsmouth Tennis Centre was named the most inclusive tennis centre in the country, receiving the prestigious Tennis Opened Up Award at the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) Awards, recognising the outstanding contribution of its volunteers, coaches, officials, and players.
Cultural events and economic benefit
It has been a standout year for event venues and spaces across Bournemouth and Croydon, with audiences returning in force to enjoy an ambitious programme of events and bringing communities together.
More than 500 cultural events filled theatres, concert halls, and live spaces, generating half a million ticket sales and showcasing the breadth of entertainment on offer. Alongside this, BH Live continues its commitment to promoting accessibility for all, providing over 30,000 cultural ticket concessions for people on low income, and providing nearly half a million pounds in community subsidies for arts and culture organisations.
The conference and exhibition programme also flourished, with major events attracting significant delegate numbers, generating income for the local economy.
Seasonal highlights once again lit up the year, with festive pantomimes drawing packed houses and delivering joy to families across both regions. At Fairfield Halls in Croydon, the annual panto saw an increased number of attendances, supported by thousands of concessionary tickets, hundreds of essential companion passes, and local school visits. Audiences also helped raise funds for the Fairfield Halls Outreach Fund, supporting theatre access for less privileged young people.
At Bournemouth Pavilion, the panto season was equally vibrant, welcoming large audiences. BH Live provided thousands of concessionary tickets, hundreds of companion passes, and funded panto places for less privileged schoolchildren. Audiences also donated generously to the Pavilion Outreach Fund, helping to widen theatre access for future generations.
Bournemouth International Centre also marked a major venue milestone, its 40th anniversary. BH Live worked with its council partners and those involved in the venue’s inception, acknowledging four decades of providing world‑class events, a continued positive impact on people’s lives, bringing vital income to the town and supporting jobs.
Investing for the future
BH Live has delivered a significant programme of investment to modernise the facilities it operates. It focuses on improving customer experiences and strengthening its sustainability credentials. In the past 12 months, more than £1.25 million has been invested, with improvements ranging from infrastructure to operational and digital systems.
At BH Live Active, Pelhams, new artificial training pitches opened for football and other sports. While Stokewood benefited from premium Technogym group cycling equipment to encourage more people into group cycle exercise classes. A major partnership regeneration project at Bournemouth International Centre transformed meeting rooms and conference areas into bright, fresh and modern spaces thanks to a £1.8 million investment from BCP Council, supported by a further £800,000 injection from BH Live.
In Portsmouth, a new sensory room at Exploria, funded by Portsmouth City Council, created a second inclusive and stimulating space for children and families. At Sir David English Sports Centre in Bournemouth, the transformation of inefficient spa facilities into a new Terrace café now provides a welcoming social hub for all.
Sustainability remains a core priority too. Solar panels installed at BH Live Active, Littledown, expanded EV charging infrastructure, and the addition of a new plug‑in hybrid pool car supports the BH Live’s electric fleet. Other improvements include a vibrant new outdoor food and drink offer, South Terrace at BH Live Active, Pyramids, new café furniture at Mountbatten Leisure Centre, and an upgrade to its steam room. Behind the scenes, BH Live also refreshed its corporate IT network and systems to support future growth and resilience.
Together, these achievements and investments reflect BH Live’s ongoing commitment to enriching local life, giving families, young people, and older adults more ways to stay active, inspired, and connected with others.
As BH Live moves into 2026 and beyond, the charity remains committed to working with local authorities, community groups, industry bodies, and partners to expand opportunities for active living, cultural engagement, and community wellbeing.
On behalf of BH Live, Jon Workman, CEO, said;
“This year has been one of exceptional progress. From increasing physical activity participation at our sport and leisure centres, to providing vibrant cultural events and major investment in our facilities, we are seeing the real impact of what can be achieved when our team and community partners work together for public benefit.
“We remain focused on creating opportunities for people to live healthier, happier, and more connected lives. With our expansion into Southampton and continued commitment to innovation and inclusion, we are entering an exciting new chapter, one where we can make an even greater difference in the communities we serve.”
“What we’ve achieved is thanks to the passion and hard work of our brilliant team, with the loyal support of our customers and partners. Thanks must also go to our board of trustees who give up their time and expertise in shaping strategic direction. It’s amazing to see the positive changes we’ve made together.”
More information about BH Live can be found at bhlive.org.uk.