Steve and Helen to take part in islands sea fest

ADVENTURER and wildlife presenter Steve Backshall has been confirmed as a headliner and ambassador for this year's Ocean Scilly.

- ATHWENNA IRONS [e-mail]

Following from its successful debut in 2024, the sea-themed festival managed by Visit Isles of Scilly is returning for 2025 with new events and special guests.

Taking place from Saturday, August 23 to Sunday, August 31, the programme aims to encapsulate the "very best of all things on, in and around the waters that surround the archipelago" made up of 140 islands just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall.

A spokesperson for Visit Isles of Scilly said: "Long known and loved as an island paradise, famous for its powdery white sands and crystal-clear turquoise waters, where better in the British Isles to host a festival dedicated to the ocean... and who better to be an ambassador than author, presenter, explorer and famous ocean lover, Steve Backshall."

Whilst Mr Backshall will be hosting a ticketed evening talk, his wife, double Olympic champion rower and gold-medallist Helen Glover OBE, will be taking part in a Scilly 60 SwimRun; a challenging race involving both running across islands and swimming between them.