Seafest Plymouth 2024 returns with a new partnership announcement

16th August 2024

Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park are pleased to announce a new and exciting partnership for Seafest 2024. The hugely popular annual festival, celebrating Plymouth’s vibrant waterfront, promises to be bigger and better than ever before.

Seafest 2024 will take place on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, transforming Plymouth’s historic waterfront, from Bretonside to Royal William Yard and reaching across the water to Mount Batten and Mount Edgcumbe. The festival will offer a wide range of family-friendly activities, showcasing the best of Plymouth’s food and drink, local businesses, live music, entertainment, and marine-inspired fun and inspiration, both on and off the water.

The exciting new partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park complements Seafest, by providing an even greater focus on marine activities, opportunities to engage with the water and ways to look after our much-loved Plymouth Sound. Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Jon Walton, CEO, and Kim Downer, Business Liaison Manager, from Plymouth Waterfront Partnership:“Seafest really is only achievable because of our levy payers and key stakeholders so we always want to ensure that each year we strive to provide the ‘best one yet’. The collaboration with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park is a natural fit – we’re really excited by the partnership.”

"Seafest is the epitome of Plymouth’s waterfront – family-friendly, local produce, entertainment, a fantastic local offer, showing off our wonderful marine and maritime heritage – we’d encourage everyone to come along for the weekend and ‘sea’ and experience it.”

Councillor Tudor Evans OBE, Leader, Plymouth City Council said:“This collaboration goes together like locally sustainably caught fish and chips – great as individuals, but even better together! By partnering with Plymouth Waterfront Partnership for Seafest, we’re able to let even more people know about the UK’s first National Marine Park and all the ways our local community, and visitors to the city, can get involved. With a wide range of free activities that our gateway partners are providing there’s plenty of opportunities to give some a go!”

Seafest is free to attend and offers something for everyone. Highlights include:

• A mouthwatering array of fresh seafood and other sumptuous dishes from local restaurants and producers complete with the traditional fish auction in the Barbican
• A live music stage featuring a diverse range of artists and entertainment including the ever-popular shanty bands, some of which will appear in local venues in the evening
• Across Plymouth Sound National Marine Park at Mount Batten, Tinside Lido and Mount Edgcumbe there will be a wide range of taster sessions to get people in, on, under and near the water, including free swimming sessions, SCUBA diving, sailing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and more
• Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Mount Batten Tower on the Sunday which boosts spectacular panoramic views of Plymouth Sound National Marine Park
• At Royal William Yard there will be marine themed activities for all the family and opportunities to explore the waters of Firestone Bay
• On The Barbican there will be fun-filled activities for children of all ages including the return of the popular Seafest trail
• Ocean Conservation Trust will be hosting an evening at the National Marine Aquarium on the Sunday evening, celebrating Seafest with a special Ocean Conversations event, and The Box will have free puppetry workshops for children following the story of The Whale’s Tale
• At West Hoe Pier volunteers will be taking part in a marine clean up; visitors can also find out about the history that lies on the bottom of Plymouth Sound
• Doggy Dip - don’t miss the season-ending doggy dip at Tinside Lido on the Sunday afternoon
• And much more!

This year, Seafest’s headline sponsor is Ocean MINI. Venton’s Cyder and The Early Bird are the Seafest’s official bar and entertainment programme sponsors respectively.

Seafest is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Britain’s Ocean City - sea you there.

Find out more about this year's event: Seafest Plymouth