Morecambe Vintage by the Sea attendance announced as 45,000

Monday, 5 September 2022 16:59

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

Wayne Hemingway hosts Best in Show at the Morecambe Vintage by the Sea festival

Organisers of Morecambe's Vintage by the Sea festival have announced that the event pulled more than 45,000 to the town over the weekend.

The team behind the event also revealed that the festival pulled a record number of 15,200 visitors to The Platform venue, which hosted a Vintage Marketplace.

Thousands of people also visited the Morecambe Winter Gardens as it hosted a Makers' Market of gifts and crafts.

Morecambe was alive with music, dancing, street food and entertainment at the event, held on Saturday and Sunday.

Events included street theatre, aerial performers swinging from a giant swing set, performances of Quite Unfit for Females celebrating the achievements of pioneering female footballers by Lancaster-based About Time Dance Company, the Old Time Sailors' shanty singers, a Rapid Painting Competition, a Vintage Bike Ride, a display of classic cars and motorbikes, live music and DJs, family workshops and much more.

Activities centred around the central Promenade, which was closed off both days, with most events taking place in and around the Midland and the Platform.

The festival was curated and produced by Morecambe-based art and culture company Deco Publique in partnership with Lancaster City Council, with funding from Morecambe Town Council.

"We were delighted to welcome so many people to Morecambe over the weekend," said Councillor Sandra Thornberry from Lancaster City Council.

"It was lovely to see families enjoying the various activities and entertainment on offer at the festival and visiting Morecambe's shops, cafes and restaurants.

"The scale of the festival and the calibre of the acts and artists involved is continuing to ensure Vintage by the Sea's reputation as a festival of national significance."

Wayne Hemingway, the Morecambe-born designer and TV personality who co-founded the vintage festival, was at the heart of the weekend's events alongside his wife Gerardine.

Mr Hemingway said it was heartwarming to see his birth town alive during the festival and to hear all the stories from businesses across the town about having their busiest weekend.

"Vintage by the Sea is now a must attend event not just for locals but also from across the North and further. The Best in Show had attendees from Worthing, Brighton, Hastings, London, The Hague and Montreal and for most, it was a first visit to Morecambe and all said they will be back.

"The event was designed to help the resurgence of Morecambe as a coastal resort of note. We know that Sir Tim Smit of the Eden Project felt that Morecambe could be a place that could support Eden North because of the numbers that Vintage by the Sea attracted and successfully catered for. The town can be proud that it hosts an event that makes people very happy, attracts new visitors, and has enormous economic impact and long term place marketing value."

Festival curators, Deco Publique, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to see Vintage by the Sea return to such a reception.

"Our festival visitors - local, national and international - created an atmosphere of celebration that will be hard to forget.

"We saw a packed promenade, dancing on the seafront and thousands of people participating with early figures suggesting high attendance across the festival. The town and its admirers showed up, creating a significant impact for Morecambe that evidences why we must continue to work together to create meaningful cultural experiences of this scale."

Photos by Robin Zahler.