Brighton to host England’s biggest cocktail event of 2026
Why does this matter?
The Brighton Cocktail Festival's custom app for cocktail discovery and bar navigation represents an interesting tech application in beverage events that BevTech founders could learn from for consumer engagement and venue discovery.
Highlights
The southeast coastal city of Brighton will play host to England’s biggest cocktail festival in September, with a larger bar and cocktail lineup than any other city in the country this year. Brighton Cocktail Festival is returning for its second year this autumn, with a city-wide celebration of the local cocktail scene taking place from 18-27 September 2026. Due to this year's London Cocktail Week celebrations being moved to March 2027, Brighton Cocktail Festival has become the country’s biggest cocktail event of 2026. More than 50 of Brighton and Hove’s best bars will take part in the festival, serving over 150 bespoke cocktails for £6 (US$8.10), or £4 (US$5.40) for non-alcoholic cocktails. Over the 10-day festival, unique events and offers will be available to ticket holders, including discounts for hotels and restaurants plus cocktail ingredients for home bartenders. The lineup of bars that will take part includes whisky bar Cut Your Wolf Loose and 1920s-style speakeasy Bar Valentino. Plus, bee-inspired Apiary, art gallery bar Helm, and the Victoria Bar at The Grand will all take part, with participating venues within walking distance of each other, allowing ticket holders to easily visit their favourite venues on foot. Festival app This year’s festival also features a new Brighton Cocktail Festival app, which launched on the App Store and Google Play today (14 April). Said to be the first of its kind globally, the app features everything needed for the cocktail experience, from bar discovery tools to cocktails, events and offers that will allow visitors to create their own custom-made cocktail trails on a live map. Ticket holders can also bookmark, rate and review bars and cocktails to keep track of the ones they’ve tried and want to try next. “Brighton Cocktail Festival is all about championing Brighton’s incredible cocktail culture, and so we can’t wait to host the country’s biggest city-wide celebration of cocktails,” said Brighton Cocktail Festival founder Harry Philippson. “With the launch of the brand new Brighton Cocktail Festival App, locals and visitors will be able to create their own bespoke cocktail trails and experiences to discover and then support the city’s best bars for the festival and beyond.” Early-bird tickets are on sale now for £15 (US$20) on the Brighton Cocktail Festival website, or follow @brightoncocktailfestival on Instagram and TikTok for more information. Brighton will also host its inaugural Whisky Weekend in June, bringing three days of drams and discovery to England’s southeast coast.
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