PLANS are in full swing for this year’s Harwich Sea Festival.

Thousands of people from at home and abroad turn out every year and the 2014 event is set to be as spectacular as ever.

Among the highlights this year will be duck racing, a sequence of stalls along the quayside, a boat which formed part of the Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations and a large regatta.

The event is jointly organised by the Harwich and Dovercourt Rotary Club, Harwich RNLI and the Harwch Harbour Board and Rotarian Neil McCrone believes this year’s event will be more exciting than ever before.

“Members of the groups have been meeting regularly over a number of months and coming up with plans for this year’s event,” he said.

“It has been running since 1988 and has been getting bigger and better all the time.

“We welcome visitors from all around Essex and every year we get some from even further afield.

“People even come from continental Europe to be part of the day which is absolutely fantastic.”

This year the festival is on Sunday July 27 between 11am and 5pm.

For more information about the day go to seafestival.harwich-essex.co.uk.