Each year the harbour plays host to an annual event celebrating all things nautical. We aim to showcase as many of the different activities that take place on the river as possible in one day – including dinghy sailing, yachts, workboats, powerboats, paddleboarding, angling, RNLI lifeboats, jetskis, flyboards and hovercraft to name a few. Several exciting visiting and resident vessels will also be open for tours on Town Quay.
2021 Event Cancellation
Whilst cautious planning has been going on behind the scenes, please note that the Littlehampton Harbour Waterfront Festival will now return in Summer 2022.
Whilst the UK’s world-leading progress with mass vaccination is a cause for celebration and some experts are optimistic about a more “normal” summer, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the return of mass gatherings.
It is true that events organised on private land that can be designed to allow social distancing do look likely to go ahead this Summer. Unfortunately, this is clearly not the case for the harbour’s event where spectators pack themselves around the stalls on the riverwalk, mixing with residents, boat owners and beachgoers. A ‘water-only’ event with no organised shore-side activity was carefully considered but it is clear that any water-based displays will only encourage congregation of unmanaged spectators. Therefore, it is not possible to put on a COVID-secure waterfront festival in July 2021 as hoped.
We will share an update in the Autumn with a hopefully more optimistic outlook for Summer 2022.