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All the ingredients for a successful festival as Seafest returns to Plymouth’s waterfront this September
31st July 2025
Get ready for Seafest! Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council have teamed up once again to bring back this popular weekend festival to celebrate and connect the sea and the city.
Seafest, being held this year on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September, combines Plymouth’s extraordinary maritime heritage, sustainability, with good music and a variety of top-quality themed entertainment resulting in a celebration of the city’s connection to the sea.
Visitors can take part in a range of activities including swim sessions, SCUBA, snorkelling, paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing tasters, delve into the city's nautical past and discover how everyone can contribute to becoming marine stewards in the local environment. The Plymouth Sound National Marine Park Horizons project has been made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players with £11.6million of funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This year’s Seafest welcomes the return of the live cookery demo stage, where locally renowned chefs and business owners, will show off their culinary skills by creating their favourite recipes using freshly caught sustainably sourced ingredients to inspire visitors to try something new in their own kitchens.
Kim Downer, interim CEO, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership said:“Seafest is one of PWP’s annual flagship events and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with Plymouth Sound National Marine Park and Plymouth City Council again this year. Events like this really show off our waterfront and the wide range of businesses we have here in the BID [Business Improvement District].
"Seafest is fun and inspiring, with something for everyone to ‘sea’, do and get involved in.”
Elaine Hayes, CEO, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park said:“Seafest is a great opportunity to connect people with the incredible natural and cultural heritage of Plymouth Sound. It brings our National Marine Park to life by offering new experiences, inspiring stewardship of our marine environment and celebrating the deep-rooted relationship between our city and the sea. We’re proud to be part of an event that makes the ocean accessible, exciting and relevant to everyone.”
Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Events, Plymouth City Council said: “Plymouth is incredibly proud of its connection with the sea. It’s so exciting to see this event grow and expand right across the waterfront with family-fun and delicious food for all to enjoy. Seafest celebrates Plymouth’s connection to the sea in a fun and inspiring way, with discounted activities across the waterfront all weekend, it’s a brilliant way for people to try something new. There are so many ways to get involved, from water sports including SCUBA sessions and paddleboarding, or exploring the historic coastline at Mount Edgcumbe”.
Seafest’s final schedule of activities, sessions and demos is being added to regularly in the lead up to the September weekend. Some of the confirmed key highlights so far include:
- Plymouth Sound National Marine Park Anchor Sites including Mount Batten, Tinside and Mount Edgcumbe will have a range of free and nominal charge activities across the Seafest weekend including water sports sessions, 90p swim sessions for all (to celebrate the Lido’s 90th anniversary), open house tours and self-guided tours of the Mount Batten Tower.
- Outdoor cinema with Seafest presents: The Tinside Motion Picture Show across the Friday (12th), Saturday and Sunday with films including Finding Nemo and The Salt Path.
- The 45th J/24 World Championship culminates on Sunday 14th September with J class sailors from around the world competing for the coveted title. Bought to the city by Plym Yacht Club, Saltash Sailing Club and the UK J/24 Class Association with support from Yacht Havens Group and the Port of Plymouth Sailing Association, the fleet will look spectacular in the Sound between 6th and 14th September. Spectators can get close to the action with special sailing trips on board The Island Trust’s Johanna Lucretia during the championship.
- The Whale with Circo Rum Ba Ba - bold explorers crawl on all fours and squeeze into the belly of an enormous inflatable Sperm Whale. When inside they find themselves in the depths of the bubbling, kelp-swirling ocean, where they settle to watch and listen to a marvellous marine tale. The Whale will be on The Green at Royal William Yard for the Seafest weekend.
- Royal William Yard 200 Exhibition (running from the 13th - 28th September) curated from local stories, artefacts, images and art, much of which has never been seen publicly before now.
- As part of the city’s ‘Keep Plymouth Fishing’ campaign to support local fishers and their businesses by promoting local, sustainable catch, Plymouth Fishing and Seafood Association will be attending Seafest to highlight the importance of Plymouth’s fishing industry and demoing delicious seafood recipes on the cookery stage based in the Barbican for the Seafest weekend.
To ensure visitors can easily access as much as the waterfront as possible during Seafest safely and sustainably, subsidised and free public transport offers supported by Plymouth Boat Trips, Mount Batten Ferry and Plymouth CityBus’ ‘Shark and Ride’ will be available across the weekend.
With the return of the live cookery demo stage, family friendly activities, facepainting, trader stands, music, street entertainment and theatre, trails and tours, crafts and making sessions spanning the whole waterfront from Sutton Harbour, the Barbican, Tinside Lido, West Hoe and Royal William Yard, from Mount Batten to Mount Edgcumbe, Seafest has all the ingredients to be a hugely popular weekend for everyone in Britain’s Ocean City.
Find out more about Seafest Plymouth.
