A brief history of the Bristol Harbour Festival
1969 Bristol’s Floating Harbour is threatened by plans to concrete over the whole expanse and build a major road network
1971 Partly in celebration of its survival, the Bristol Water Festival is held on the Harbour. Launched jointly by Bristol City Council and Inland Waterways, it centred on St Augustine’s Reach and Prince’s Wharf. The black and white picture (right) shows Bill Elston (Commodore of Cabot Cruising Club), Fred Blampied (Inland Waterways Association), John Leech (Cabot Cruising Club), Roy Boucher (owner of the steam whistle from the Bristol Queen, the last of the paddle steamers operated from Bristol by P&A Campbells) and Councillor Edward Wright (Chairman of the Docks Committee)
1974 Re-named the Bristol Harbour Regatta and Rally of Boats. For the next two decades, it’s a strongly maritime event, with growing numbers of visiting boats (civilian and military) plus displays by sailing clubs and other water users. The Harbour Regatta name is retained until 1999
Early 1980s By this time, the Regatta has become an established event, drawing in tens of thousands. Highlights include demonstrations by Royal Navy Air Sea Rescue helicopter, skydiving and parachute jumps. Fireworks are let off every year from the roof of the Industrial Museum. Skip races (rowing races using upturned, empty skips) are another common feature, often with teams made up from Council employees
1980s The Spanish trading schooner, the Pascual Flores, is being restored in Bristol and puts in regular appearances at the festival … Late 1980s Cornish shipyard Square Sail begin sending some of their historic tall ships up for the festival. From now on, tall ships are a major feature
Early 1990s The Lloyds Amphitheatre is built, allowing for big live music concerts and circus entertainment
1996 Bristol holds the first International Festival of the Sea, a more exclusively maritime version of the Harbour Festival (which returns as normal), with visits from some historic tall ships. Star of the show is the newly built replica of the Matthew, the boat in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol to America (the voyage was re-enacted the following year)
1999 Pero’s Bridge is opened, allowing crowds to flow more freely from the Amphitheatre to Prince’s Wharf
2000 New attractions at the newly named SWEB Harbour Festival include a charity raft race, a fairground and a craft market. SWEB sponsors the fest until 2004
2001 Headliners at the Amphitheatre are seminal reggae outfit Misty In Roots and Arabic chanteuse Natacha Atlas
2003 Ace Bristol circus troupe Cirque Bijou begin programming the festival’s circus and street theatre stage
2004 The festival gains a major new site as the centre in Queen Square and the dance stage is introduced outside Mud Dock. A Portuguese area – featuring music, dance and cuisine – joins the now-established French Market
2005 The EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival includes a replica of HMS Pickle, the small schooner that brought Britain the news of victory at Trafalgar and Nelson’s death. Vintage R&B singer Geno Washington headlines. EDF continues to sponsor the festival until 2008
2007 Seminal ska/reggae outfit Toots & The Maytals headline as over 150,000 visit the festival
2008 For the Still Black, Still Proud concert, legends including Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Martha High pay tribute to James Brown. Elsewhere, the Dance Village make its debut on Cathedral Walk, and the Eco Zone is unveiled in Queen Square
2009 In the year of the Floating Harbour’s 200th birthday, Candi Staton and VV Brown headline: new arrivals include the Children’s Festival. Some 200,000 attend