Scarborough's Big Ideas By The Sea Festival 2025 announces world class line-up

Regius Professor of History at Cambridge University Sir Richard Evans, one of the world’s leading historians of modern Germany will be joined by writer/broadcaster and cultural historian Professor Sir Christopher Frayling who makes a return visit to the festival, in addition to the eminent Scarborough-born industrial designer Richard Seymour.

Illustrated talks by the leading Egyptologist and festival patron, Scarborough-based Professor Joann Fletcher and the prominent marine conservationist Hugo Tagholm, former CEO of Surfers Against Sewage and now UK director of international organisation Oceana, are also included within the programme.

Expanding the range of live music, two of the founding members of the highly celebrated R&B/Blues band Nine Below Zero, guitarist and frontman Dennis Greaves and harmonica player Mark Feltham make their Big Ideas festival debut, some 21 years after their last live performance in the town at the Westwood School of Art & Design in 2004.

A second Grand Finale Community Choir evening consisting of six choirs will be held at St. Mary’s Church on Friday May 31.

In a unique UK venture, the festival features the next phase of the community archaeology project The Big Dig led jointly by John Oxley MBE, Chris Hall of Scarborough Archaeological & Historical Society with Dawn Haida and Marie Woods of Heritage Adventures Ltd., which will run throughout the course of the festival. The two-week dig will continue to explore the medieval site at Paradise. This pioneering initiative offers primary school groups the opportunity to excavate a real archaeological site under the guiding supervision of professionals.

Additionally, this year also sees the return of wide-ranging community event The Big Day Out At The Castle, that includes the return of the Roman VI Legion re-enactment group, with free admission offered to Scarborough residents within the YO11, YO12 and YO13 postcodes areas.

Numerous other varied events are scheduled that include poetry, music, walks, guided tours, performances and exhibitions.

As a prelude to this year’s main festival, Scarborough Symphony Orchestra will once again be performing in concert at the Queen Street Methodist Hall on Saturday May 10th. The varied programme will include works by Edward Elgar, Joseph Haydn, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Adolphus Hailstork and William Grant Still.

Tickets and full details are available from scarborough-orchestra.org/may-concert

Events will take place at venues across the town at St. Mary’s Church. St. Martin-On-The-Hill, Scarborough Castle, Scarborough Library, Scarborough Spa, Gallery 6 and the Shakespeare Gallery.

The festival is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, Scarborough Hospitality Association, Northern Retail Services (Scarborough) Ltd., English Heritage and the Crown Spa Hotel.

Big Ideas By The Sea Festival 2025 runs from Friday 16 to Friday 31 May.

Tickets and further details of all events can be found on the festival website at bigideasbythesea.com