The Bay International Film Festival 2026

The environment

We take sustainability seriously across every aspect of the festival. Our award trophies are crafted from 100% recycled materials, and our digital-first marketing strategy — including QR codes for programmes and schedules — significantly reduces paper waste compared to traditional print-heavy festival promotion. All five festival venues (More Music, Reel Cinema, the West End Playhouse, The Exchange, and The Boardwalk) are centrally located in Morecambe and accessible by public transport, actively encouraging low-carbon travel. Notably, 78% of our 97+ festival team worked on a voluntary basis, meaning our model relies on community participation rather than resource-heavy infrastructure. With over 58% of tickets given out free under our Community Access scheme, we also avoid the carbon footprint associated with large-scale commercial festival operations.

The local economy

The festival attracts visitors from well beyond Morecambe during January — typically one of the quietest months for local businesses. Our 2026 audience data shows that 38.3% came from Lancaster/Morecambe, while a significant 61.7% travelled in from further afield — including Wider Lancashire (28.6%), Cumbria (9%), the Wider North (6.8%), the rest of the UK (3%), and international guests from Canada, Czech Republic, Holland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Ireland. Out-of-town guests stayed at local accommodation including The Midland Hotel, Clarendon Hotel, Clifton Hotel, The Royal Bar & Shaker, and various guest houses — bringing direct tourism revenue to the town. We prioritise local venues across all five festival sites, and our spending goes directly into the local supply chain. By drawing industry professionals and international filmmakers to Morecambe, we are also helping to establish the town as a recognised cultural destination — reinforcing its profile year-round, not just during the festival itself.

Volunteering, jobs & education

TBIFF 2026 created meaningful pathways into creative careers across every level of involvement. Our Teen Media Team trained young people in professional photography, videography, and interviewing — skills with direct applications in further education and employment. We ran animation workshops for local children that drew enthusiastic family participation, with parents specifically noting their children's creative engagement. The festival mobilised a team of 97+ people, with 78% working on a voluntary basis — making TBIFF one of the largest voluntary creative opportunities in the town. Crucially, 43% of those in paid roles first came through the festival as volunteers, demonstrating a genuine career pathway from community participation to professional employment. Roles spanned volunteering (50.5%), guest speaking (26.8%), short-term paid staff (12.4%), core team (7.2%), and internships (3.1%). Workshops made up 23.8% of all festival events, reflecting our commitment to education and skills development as a core part of the programme, not an afterthought.

Arts, culture & heritage

TBIFF 2026 delivered a rich, internationally diverse cultural programme to Morecambe — a town that rarely benefits from this level of arts investment. We screened 75 films drawn from 382 submissions spanning the UK, Europe, North & Latin America, Asia & Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa, celebrating independent filmmaking from across the globe alongside homegrown Northern talent. Our Eric Morecambe-related programming was a particular highlight, with local audiences deeply moved to see the town's own heritage reflected on screen — one attendee described watching the film "now living where it was filmed" as a uniquely powerful experience. Heritage and place were woven throughout the festival's identity. The calibre of talent we attracted — including BAFTA-winner Peter Bowker, Oscar-nominated Mark Gill, and showrunner Daragh Carville whose series The Bay put Morecambe on the international map — signals that TBIFF is becoming a genuinely recognised destination for serious independent cinema in the North West.

Activity, health and leisure

TBIFF 2026 deliberately positioned cinema as an active, social experience rather than passive entertainment. Post-screening Q&As and discussions were among the most valued aspects of the festival, with audiences specifically highlighting the conversations and connections made as highlights of their experience. One attendee described it as "such a warm welcoming event" — the kind of social participation that combats isolation and supports community wellbeing. Mental health was woven directly into the programming through a dedicated documentary strand, a mental health film forum, and a mental health workshop for film lovers — creating rare public spaces for open community dialogue around a topic that affects many Morecambe residents. Writer and broadcaster Byron Vincent led discussion at the mental health screening, and audiences found the programming deeply "relatable" and honest. Our sliding scale ticket system — with 58.4% of tickets given free under Community Access — ensured that financial hardship was never a barrier to participation in cultural and leisure activity, reaching people who might otherwise be excluded from arts and wellbeing opportunities entirely.