VegfestUK Brighton is coming back to the city on Saturday 7 November 2026, at the Hilton Metropole on Kings Road. It is a one-day show this time, open 11am to 6pm, with 120 stalls and 50 speakers and performers.
We asked its founder, Tim Barford, why VegfestUK is coming back, what is different this time and what visitors should not miss. His answers are below, with everything you need to plan a day out. More events in Brighton and Hove are on ImJustBrighton.
Source: VegfestUK, its ticket page and event poster, and written answers from founder Tim Barford to ImJustBrighton.
Why Vegfest is back
Barford says VegfestUK first came to Brighton in 2009 and ran shows at the Hove Centre and the Brighton Centre until 2019. It returned in 2023 after Covid, but he says the venue was too big and too expensive for the post-Covid events crowd.
“The vegan and plant-based movement has plateaued but has started to grow again and we are very busy this year with a lot of new traders coming through, people importing again and even firms coming over from Europe again for the first time since Brexit. So time to come back to Brighton!”
Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK
He chose the Hilton Metropole because it is the right size and affordable, in a great location, with a great team to work with. As for what is different from the last Brighton show, he points to a lot of new traders and a venue that is easy to get around.
Brighton and Vegfest, 2003 to 2028
These are the dates Barford and VegfestUK gave us, in order.
Why one day? Barford says the shows are still growing back after lockdowns, and that the events depend on traders. Independent traders in particular have faced some very challenging times, and one-day shows are easier to manage and keep extra costs down.
What is on the day
Asked for the top three things visitors must not miss, Barford says: the food, the speakers and the performers. The poster adds a vegan food village, a campaigns area, a market place, a balcony with sanctuaries and charities, live music, spoken word and comedy.
Barford names actor Peter Egan, entrepreneur Heather Mills, singer Gemma Louise Doyle and vegan comedian Dawn Chorus among the headliners, plus a food village with a dozen street food caterers. His own tip for lunch is the Chappers Cheesecakes (“divine”), and for the end of the day a dhal and rice. The full speakers and performers list has more than 40 names.
The traders page lists nearly 100 names, from food and skincare brands to animal sanctuaries and campaign groups, including Chappers Cheesecake, Puri O’ Clock, Sri Lankish, Joy’s Caribbean Fusion, Japanese Cafe An-An, Riverford Organic Farmers, Suma Wholefoods, Animal Aid, Greenpeace, the Vegan Society and Viva! Barford expects around 2,000 visitors. On local traders he is candid: “not that many”, with a hope to attract more for 2027.
Families, first-timers and the curious
Children under 16 go free and do not need a ticket. For 11 to 16 year olds, Barford says there is a workshop with Jazz from Viva! on getting active for animals. There is shopping, food and live music, and he says the comedy is mainly for adults.
“If you are new to plant based lifestyles you are in for a treat - 95% of people not yet vegan who visit our shows leave with a very positive impression of this lifestyle - great place to come and sample and try out different options and meet fabulous people with shared values.”
Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK
That 95% figure is Barford’s own, about VegfestUK shows in general. He says it is a good day out for people who are not vegan but are curious.
Tickets, access and getting there
Tickets are sold on the VegfestUK ticket page: £10 plus a booking fee in advance, or £12 on the door. A buy one get one half price (BOGOHP) offer is running until the end of October. No dogs are permitted at the venue.
Barford says visitors are welcome to get in touch before the event if they have specific requirements.
The man behind it
Barford has been vegan since 1984. According to his VegfestUK press biography, he launched the original Bristol Vegan Fayre in 2003, and VegfestUK events in Bristol, London, Brighton and Scotland have attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years.
He says it began as a good excuse for a party. His background is in free festivals, free parties and rave culture through the 1980s and 1990s, and the first year had an after party with Bez from the Happy Mondays.
On the first Brighton show in 2009, he remembers a high and a hard lesson.
“It was awesome, the biggest indoor vegan event the UK had ever seen, held at the Brighton Centre. But financially it was our first big hit and the losses were acute and that was a very tough experience. Now I’m used to it, but the first time that you hit big losses it can break you. Or you get stronger from the experience, which I did.”
Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK
Why Brighton, and how the scene has changed
“Brighton and vegan go together like coffee and donuts - a very sweet strong combination. People in Brighton are generally fun loving and the city has a strong rock n roll streak running through and very much aligned with vegfest and the broader vegan collective.”
Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK
On how the vegan scene has changed in 20 years, he says it got a lot bigger, then a lot smaller, and is now growing again. The core principle, he says, stays the same: animals are not ours to use.
Running a festival is not easy. Barford says the biggest challenge is finances: like a lot of independents, revenues have dropped and costs have risen. He says the corner has turned and VegfestUK is growing again after a tough six years.
What comes next
Barford says Brighton is not a one-off. VegfestUK will be back in 2027 and beyond, with the 2027 date already confirmed and due to be announced shortly. Stalls for the 2027 show go on sale immediately after this year’s event.
London is already at capacity for stalls and visitors this year, he says, and will most likely become a two-day show in 2027, with Brighton to follow in 2028. The other VegfestUK dates he listed are below.
His message to anyone who has never been: “get your tickets!”
VegfestUK Brighton 26: ticketsvegfest.co.uk VegfestUK Brighton 26: speakers and performersvegfest.co.uk VegfestUK Brighton 26: tradersvegfest.co.uk VegfestUK on Instagram: @vegfestukinstagram.comSources
- Written answers from Tim Barford, founder of VegfestUK, to ImJustBrighton, 22 October 2026
- VegfestUK Brighton 26: tickets
- VegfestUK Brighton 26: speakers and performers
- VegfestUK Brighton 26: traders
- VegfestUK: Tim Barford biography, published 20 May 2026
More things to do are under Events and Brighton and Hove on ImJustBrighton.
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