Plans were made for a Festival in 1940, but shelved because of the war.

In December 1946 a meeting was called to discuss the future of the Festival, and the first post-war Festival was held in 1947, with Lionel Salter as one of the adjudicators.

In 1948 Dr Eric Thiman was an adjudicator: he was to come again in 1957 to judge both the Vocal and Instrumental classes.

Since the war, the Festival has changed in many ways. The number of choirs has declined, partly because there is now much less singing in Primary schools, and also because most of the private schools which entered the Festival have closed. Before and for some time after the war, there were at least ten boys' preparatory schools in Thanet - five of them in Broadstairs. Two of the past Chairmen of the Festival were connected with these schools: Mrs Freebairn-Smith, whose husband was the Headmaster of Cliftonville School, and Patrick Williams, for many years Music Master at Stone House.