National Maritime Museum • Saturday, June 6, 2026
The vast, mystery-filled depths of the oceans are being transported into the city this time, right into London’s historic maritime center. On Saturday, June 6, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich is preparing to celebrate World Ocean Day by opening its doors to a completely free open-air and art festival. If you are looking for an unconventional weekend route that triggers both a childlike curiosity and instills ecological awareness, you should definitely not miss this creative oasis to be set up in the museum’s massive Ocean Court area.
A Giant in the Front Lawn: The Greenpeace Octopus and Deep-Sea Adventures
The first thing that will likely catch your eye as you approach the museum grounds will be massive tentacles reaching toward the sky. To draw attention to the fight for protecting the ocean ecosystem, Greenpeace UK is placing a massive, inflatable octopus on the front lawn. In the shadow of this giant creature, you can engage in conversations about deep-sea conservation, and immediately afterward, head over to the Manta Trust stand to dive alongside manta rays using VR headsets.
While the Creekside Discovery Centre team lays out the hidden history and ecological structure of the River Thames before us, Royal Observatory astronomers will reveal the vital connection of oceans on our planet by looking at Earth completely in reverse—that is, from space.
The Marriage of Comedy, Science, and Rhythm
The event program, which will run throughout the day in different corners of the museum, is far from a dry festival structure:
- Extraordinary Creatures: Biologist and comedian Simon Watt brings the deepest sea’s strangest, least aesthetic, yet highly vital creatures to the stage with a humorous language in his show titled Ugly Animals.
- The Culture of Whales: With Elissa Phillips, you can explore the biology, astonishing behaviors, and internal cultures of sperm whales—the creatures with the largest brains in the world. At the same time, fascinating mythology talks examining the real creatures behind mermaids and sea monsters await philosophy enthusiasts.
- Live Performances: Melodies rising from all around the world will echo in your ears all day long. The rhythm will never stop with vocal artist Roxanne Tataei, the Beats of Polynesia dance group, the Trinity Laban Latin Band, and the mobile PULSAR festival group that might suddenly cross your path in the museum corridors. Storyteller Olivia Armstrong, on the other hand, will stage the ocean’s very own story through body and movement games.
Art, Ecological Grief, and Shared Memory
The museum’s gallery spaces address not only the beauty of the ocean but also the heavy traces left upon it by humanity through a deep artistic language:
- Kõmij Mour Ijin / Our Life is Here: Located in the Temporary Space 2 area, this contemporary art exhibition strikes our faces with the ecological destruction caused by climate crises and nuclear testing conducted in the Marshall Islands through a shattering visual language.
After touring the Pasifika Now exhibition, which presents contemporary life and the search for identity through the eyes of young photographers in the Pacific geography, you can pass by the My Greenwich gallery to listen to the sound installation titled Sounds of the Ocean, composed by Newhaven School students inspired by museum objects.
Furthermore, while creative workshops will be established alongside the activist community Surfers Against Sewage where children can prepare their own protest signs, the world premiere of a new ocean literacy animation bearing the signature of Amy Tibbles will also be held here. This packed Saturday, where you can also build flying puffin puppets with the CoastARTS team, concludes at the museum store with green designs manufactured using sustainable and recycled materials. Set your calendar for June 6 in advance and become a part of this great blue awakening!
Event Details:
- Event: World Ocean Day 2026
- Venue: National Maritime Museum (Ocean Court & Grounds), Greenwich, London
- Date: Saturday, June 6, 2026
- Admission: Completely free of charge
- Key Collaborators & Performers: Greenpeace UK, Manta Trust, Royal Observatory, Simon Watt, Roxanne Tataei, Surfers Against Sewage.
