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Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 29/05/2024

Aberdeen's Festival of the Sea, which focuses of Aberdeen's maritime heritage, will take place from 15 - 28 July 2024.

The festival will be a celebration of the history, traditions and relationship between Aberdeen and the sea, and the importance of this to surrounding communities.  

It creates a family-friendly opportunity for the city to come together to celebrate, and will mark one year to go until Aberdeen welcomes the Tall Ships Race in July 2025. During the festival, three Tall Ships will visit the city’s harbour.

Aberdeen is known as a city of the sea with deep-rooted connections to its maritime and marine past. By embracing the city’s rich maritime history, as well as highlighting further points of interest across the city, this will demonstrate the pride that the city has in its heritage, values and community. 

Festival of the Sea Aberdeen logo

Festival programme

The programme for the festival will include a range of events and productions taking place across the city centre.

This includes:
 

  • Aberdeen Archives, Art Gallery and Museums
  • Open road locations at Fittie and Torry
  • Union Terrace Gardens
  • Aberdeen Science Centre
  • Aberdeen Beach Ballroom
  • Arts Centre
  • Aberdeen Sports Village



The festival will champion:
 

  • Aberdeen's maritime heritage and future
  • solutions to environmental challenges for our seas and oceans
  • STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) activities and engagement
  • sailing, swimming and watersports across the region
  • local food and hospitality, from sea to table
  • career opportunities around our coasts and on the water
Find out more on Aberdeen Council's website

Get involved in the fun

There'll be events to suit all ages, hosted at various locations across the city. These events include:
 

  • a family festival at Union Terrace Gardens on 20 and 21 July, with pop-up performances and an 18 metre-long, inflatable whale with storytelling inside
  • Commonsense Market on the terrace
  • stage comedy performances
  • 45 open road events. This includes film showings in community spaces, sea shanty workshops, a ceilidh, a Tea Dance at the Beach Ballroom, Big Noise Torry and more
  • fiddle concert from violinist Ryan Young
  • dementia friendly events by Our Aberdeen and Musical Memories
  • a special exhibition promoting Wildlife Photographer of the Year
  • sea-themed baby boogie

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