The ninth annual extravaganza officially gets under way at 7.30pm with performances from five musical acts on the West Pier Stage.

Adrian O and Keith Kendrick will be compering the show which includes Richard Granger and the Endeavour Shantymen, Kaapstander, Inner State, Keith Kendrick, and finally Flossie Mallavialle who will take to the stage at 10.10pm.

Performances will also take place at three other venues at 8.30pm – at the Leeds Hotel in West Sandgate, the Leeds Arms in St Mary's Street, and The Merchant in Eastborough.

Tomorrow the West Pier will feature entertainment not only in the form of the performances, which will run throughout the afternoon and into the evening, but also children's entertainment and exhibitions in the main marquee.

The Seafood Kitchen will run on the North Wharf from 10am-4pm and will start with a demonstration by William Bell, from Cafe Fish, at 10.45am.

The festival will also spread over to the Sea Cadet Hall where there will be a premiere of May Day Tug of War, a short film introduced by Robin Williams and Jim Radford. The hall will also host the Song for the Sea competition.

Tomorrow's festivities are due to end with a firework on the South Bay before Sunday's packed programme gets under way.