Brighton's plant-based scene is about to get a big weekend back on the calendar. VegfestUK, the city's largest plant-based festival, is returning after a three-year break, and it has picked a venue that matches its scale. The event lands on Saturday 7 November, running from 11:00 to 18:00 at the Hilton Metropole on Kings Road, so it is a one-day affair rather than a weekend to build around.
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For a festival that has been off the Brighton calendar for three years, it is coming back at full strength. The show spreads across three halls and packs in around 120 stalls, three talk areas, a performance stage, and a vegan food village with up to 15 street food caterers. Between the stalls, there are 50 speakers and performers covering veganism, animal rights and plant-based living, so it is as much about the ideas as it is about the food. If you are going for the talks, it is worth planning your day around them rather than drifting in and out.
The venue itself is worth a mention. The Hilton Metropole, also known as The DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole, is a 125-year-old hotel sitting right on the seafront, and it is the largest residential conference space in the South of England, with 5,000 square metres and 33 meeting and event spaces that range from 20 to 3,000 delegates. It has kept its original Victorian features, so the backdrop is a bit more grand than your average exhibition hall. It is also a short walk from the Royal Pavilion, the Grade I listed former royal residence that George IV turned into an Oriental palace in the early 19th century, and from The Lanes, the maze of narrow pedestrian streets and independent shops that run between North Laine and the seafront.
On the practical side, tickets are £10 plus booking fees if you book ahead, and £12 if you leave it until the door, so it is cheaper to sort it early. The festival is backed by a range of sponsors, from Healthy HR and Just Be Kind Dog Food to Vegan Accountants, No Bloat, Mad Promotions PR and Yaoh Hemp Products, and it has been covered by everyone from The Guardian and The Independent to the Brighton & Hove Times over the years, which gives you a sense of its size.
Whether you are a committed vegan or just curious about plant-based living, the format is easy enough to drop into for a few hours. With 120 stalls and a food village to work through, you could spend the whole day there, or just dip in for lunch and a couple of talks. Either way, it is a welcome return for a festival that has been missing from the city for a while, and the seafront setting makes it an easy one to build a day around.
Published Date
5 September 2026
