Sea Bangor Festival cancelled for 2025 due to Queen’s Parade development works, staffing resources and other tourism events programmed

The hugely popular annual Sea Bangor Festival has been suspended next year due to the forthcoming development works for Queen’s Parade.

Traditionally held on Eisenhower Pier and the Harbour car park, with events spilling over to McKee Clock Plaza, the four day festival has been a key feature of Bangor’s celebrations for over a decade attracting thousands to the local area. This year, however, the McKee Clock Plaza will be unavailable due to redevelopment works.

In a statement from Ards and North Down Borough Council: "A report was presented to the Council meeting of 30 October setting out that a number of events had been approved by Council subject to the rate setting process for 2025.

“The report highlighted that the forthcoming development works for Queen’s Parade by developer Bangor Marine would result in site limitations at Bangor Waterfront with resulting impacts on Council direct delivered events, including Sea Bangor. Additionally, due to available staffing resource and other tourism events programmed for June 2025 it was considered that Sea Bangor needed to be suspended for one year.

"When the £10m Marine Gardens/McKee clock arena element of the Queen’s Parade development is completed, it is the Council’s aspiration that this event space will be recognised by events organisers as a unique venue for hosting a range of events which will bring increased social, economic and cultural returns for the Borough.

"That element of the recommendation to Members was deferred to the Place and Prosperity Committee meeting of 7 November for consideration. In addition to officers’ proposals to provide additional activity during June to encourage people into the City to eat, drink, and shop, Members requested Officers to return to the December meeting with proposals to provide an additional and properly resourced Autumn event for Bangor with the aim of driving footfall and customer spend.

"Any proposed event will also be subject to the Council’s rate setting process."

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The news has resulted in mixed reactions from the local community with some believing that Holborn Square could have been made available as an alternative venue for the additional activities, offering ample space and a prime location near the city’s retail core.

In a social media post local councillor Chris McCracken, added: “While my preference would have been to save Sea Bangor for 2025 we have to accept three realities. First, Marine Gardens will be under construction so the space for Sea Bangor - which has always been tight at the best of times - is now even more limited.

"Changing the format / location for Sea Bangor 2025 looks achievable on paper, but I know from event management experience in my day job it takes a lot of work. Second, the original proposal approved in Nov 2023 was to align it with Armed Forces Day (which Ards & North Down are hosting for the whole of NI).

"However the organisers of AFD need a long lead in time to prepare, so to provide clarity it has been agreed that the one day already agreed for AFD in Ards will be expanded. Sea Bangor has always celebrated a military/naval connection but we have to accept that can't now be included for 2025.

"The third reality is we have significant summer commitments across the Borough, including AFD, and remaining capacity in the Council events team is now very limited - changing the format of Sea Bangor at this stage is probably not achievable (and would certainly risk a lower quality event).

"However, I am grateful that councillors approved my proposal for officers to consider an additional event - over and above an extended summer music programme - to take place in the Autumn, with the aim of driving footfall into the city centre and supporting businesses in what can be a slower period between summer and Xmas.

"A report will be brought back next month. And I also give my commitment to take on feedback from residents and use this pause as an opportunity to reimagine and renew Sea Bangor with the aim of bringing it back bigger and better than before in 2026.”