A WORLD famous shanty band will headline a Lyme Regis festival.

The Longest Johns have been announced as the headliners for the Festival of the Sea in Lyme Regis, taking place on Saturday, September 25.

The group found worldwide fame last year after a video of their 'Wellerman' went viral on video-sharing app, Tik Tok. The video was shared across the internet, attracting millions of views.

Born out of a mutual love of traditional folk songs and shanties, the Longest Johns perform maritime songs alongside the more unusual and less traditional folk tunes.

In a few short years they have gone from singing sea shanties in a kitchen to international folk festivals, tours and television appearances.

The Festival of the Sea will take place at the Marine Theatre and is described as 'a day of eclectic events celebrating the ocean'. The festival will feature performances and family activities alongside talks from world-leading scientists and local people, brought to life in the famous marine community of Lyme Regis.

The festival is entirely free but tickets need to be booked in advance.

The event includes activities for all the family including the Story Boat project - a miniature maritime museum, and an arts and crafts workshop.

Talks are also taking place are on accessible topics such as the Galapagos, the social life of fish, discovering new lobsters, and how to protect the ocean. Most of the speakers are from the University of Exeter's special department Exeter Marine.

These events will take place across the day, all going ahead from the Marine Theatre with timings for each activity being released nearer the time.

The event is part of Futures2021, a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Any local organisation wishing to get involved can email contact@agile-rabbit.com

To book tickets for the event, visit https://www.marinetheatre.com