In 1995 Portsmouth Dockyard celebrated the 500th anniversary of the worlds first dry dock being built in Portsmouth Royal Naval Dockyard. The celebrations included areas of the dockyard not usually open to the public being opened, vintage bus rides round the site and guided tours of the dockyard.

There was also an opportunity to see mast manning and window ladder displays performed by the Royal Navy.

In 1997 Portsmouth saw the decommissioning of HMY Britannia the last in a long line of Royal Yachts. She had been based in Portsmouth for the whole of here life but was not to stay here. She made one last farewell trip around Britain before her decommissioning and on here return to Portsmouth she was surrounded my small craft to welcome her back. The shore lines were packed with people to welcome her back to Portsmouth where many hoped she would stay. The Queen attended the decommissioning on Railway Jetty in Portsmouth Dockyard.

In 1998 the decision was finally made on the design to use for Portsmouth's Millennium tower. The people of Portsmouth were asked to vote, which could be done on the News` web page, on their favourite design. The design of a spinnaker tower won.

In August 1998 Portsmouth hosted the second International Festival of the Sea. There was a multitude of ships including Royal Naval Ships and private craft. There were thousands of musicians and entertainers to keep the show alive. There were many demonstrations and aerial displays and each day of the festival attracted more than 200,000 people. The show ended with a massive display of fireworks and the secrets of the deep show.