Cornwall Tattoo Convention takes over Wadebridge this weekend

Motorbikes are lined up nose to tail in the car park, a blacksmith’s forge is glowing somewhere behind the food vans, and needles are buzzing under nearly every marquee roof. That’s the scene at the Royal Cornwall Events Centre this weekend, whether you’re after a fresh piece of ink or you just fancy watching someone else get one.

📷Credit: Cornwall Tattoo Convention

360 artists and three days of ink

The Cornwall Tattoo Convention is back at the showground near Wadebridge for its 2026 run, open across Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August. Organisers have brought together more than 360 tattoo artists under one roof, working across every style going, with fresh designs going under the needle all weekend long.

It isn’t the first time the showground has hosted the convention, and each edition has grown the guest list a little further, pulling in artists and collectors from well beyond Cornwall’s borders for three days on the county’s biggest show calendar.

📷Credit: Cornwall Tattoo Convention

Vikings, blacksmiths and skateboards

Step away from the tattoo stations and there’s a full weekend of alternative entertainment scattered around the showground. Live music and circus acts are running throughout, alongside Viking re-enactors, working blacksmiths, skateboarding demonstrations, body painting and a run of workshops for anyone wanting to get properly hands-on. Street food traders are dotted between it all, so there’s no need to leave the site once you’re in.

Getting there and tickets

The convention runs at the Royal Cornwall Events Centre, the county’s main showground just outside Wadebridge, cementing the weekend’s place on Cornwall’s events calendar. Full ticket details and the artist line-up are on the Cornwall Tattoo Convention website.

Whoever you find under the marquees this weekend, a Viking in full armour, a skateboarder mid-trick, or an artist three hours into a full sleeve, the showground has swapped its usual show-day trade stands for something a lot more inked.

📷Credit: Cornwall Tattoo Convention