The International Festivals of the Sea were a series of maritime festivals, which were held in various

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

port cities between 1996 and 2005. The festivals were intended to be celebrations of the sea, bringing together sailors, musicians, artists, entertainers, ships and boats from all points of the compass.

History

The first International Festival of the Sea took place in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1996, and the key theme was John Cabot's pioneering voyage of discovery to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. As part of the festival, a replica of Cabot's ship, the '' Matthew'', was dedicated prior to its reenactment of Cabot's voyage the following year. The relative success of the first festival, taken with the declining numbers of visitors to

Navy Day Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. By country Argentina The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory achieved in 1814 in the Battle of Montevideo. Bahrain The R ...

s, encouraged the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

to invite the festival to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1998 and 2001. Unlike the Bristol event, the Portsmouth events had a strong naval component, and effectively combined the maritime heritage aspects of the first festival with the naval public relations aspects of the old Navy Days. Both events were highly successful with over 200,000 visitors to each. The 2003 festival was held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

's port district of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. The 2005 International Festival of the Sea returned to Portsmouth as part of the

Trafalgar 200 The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

and Sea Britain 2005 festivities to mark the 200th Anniversary of the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

. The 2005 Festival of the Sea was the last major event of its type, however, the 2017 Poole Maritime Festival in conjunction with European Maritime Day is set to revive the tradition of popular maritime festivals on 18 to 21 May 2017.

List of festivals

International Festival of the Sea, 1996 The International Festival of the Sea was a maritime festival, held in and around the Bristol Harbour, Floating Harbour in the England, English port city of Bristol. Held from 24 to 27 May 1996, it was the first of a series of International Festiv ...

International Festival of the Sea, 1998 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

International Festival of the Sea, 2001 The International Festival of the Sea was held at H.M. Naval Base, Portsmouth between 24 and 27 August 2001. It was the third in a series of International Festivals of the Sea held in the United Kingdom since 1996. The event allowed people to ...

International Festival of the Sea, 2003 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

International Festival of the Sea, 2005 The International Festival of the Sea was a festival held at H.M. Naval Base, Portsmouth between 30 June and 3 July 2005.Official souvenir programme It was the fifth in a series of International Festivals of the Sea held in the United Kingdom s ...

Festivals in the United Kingdom Maritime culture {{UK-festival-stub