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Vintage by the Sea 2025 Announcement

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Date Posted —
24.01.2025

The organisers of Vintage by the Sea Festival announce it will not take place in 2025. This decision follows careful consideration of multiple factors, including funding challenges and continued rising costs.

Over the past 11 years, Vintage by the Sea, a free to attend, not-for-profit festival, has grown into a flagship event for Morecambe and Lancashire, attracting over 40,000 local, regional, national and international visitors annually and generating more than £17 million in economic impact for the town since its inception. It has grown into a national platform for celebrating decades of culture, creativity, fashion and design while making a significant positive contribution to the local economy and the Morecambe community as a whole.

The festival’s return after the Covid-19 pandemic brought a renewed sense of celebration and connection, but it also highlighted the extent of cost increases and the infrastructure needs of organising an event of this scale. The pressure to raise the funds needed to match rising costs, within the timescales prescribed by some funders, has become unsustainable.

“Vintage by the Sea has been an incredible success story for Morecambe, and we are immensely proud of the role it has played in positively promoting the town, bringing tens of thousands of people together and creating significant income for dozens of businesses,” said Deco Publique. “We hope that this is not the end of the festival forever and that the right levels of resources and funding can be secured in the future within a deliverable timeframe.”

Beyond its economic impact, Vintage by the Sea has been the setting for countless memorable moments, from marriage proposals to visitors choosing to relocate to Morecambe after experiencing the festival and Morecambe’s unique beauty. These stories are a testament to the community’s love for the festival and its remarkable impact, placing Morecambe on the national map for culture and creativity. 

HemingwayDesign and Deco Publique, organisers of Vintage by the Sea, remain committed to the spirit of the festival and its founding values, and will continue to advocate for art, culture and high-quality event experiences in Morecambe.

Deco Publique said

“To everyone who has both supported and enjoyed Vintage by the Sea — whether by attending, trading, performing, volunteering, as a local business playing host to our thousands of visitors, and to the professionals who have worked together to deliver over a decade of memories and unforgettable weekends for Morecambe - we want to say a huge thank you, and we’ll return if and when the time is right.”

Photography - Robin Zahler