It’s lift-off for city’s first air festival
battle proms middy
A FREE air festival which organisers say will rival the best aviation shows in the world is being planned to take place in Portsmouth next summer.
The world’s only aerobatic wingwalking team, the Breitling Wingwalkers, Second World War Spitfire planes and an old Royal Navy Sea Vixen fighter jet are just some of the star attractions being lined up for a seven-hour extravaganza of soaring displays over Southsea Common on Saturday, August 18, 2012.
Organisers of the first-ever Portsmouth Air Festival have pledged the event will be free to the public and expect more than 50,000 people to attend.
The festival will be funded by sponsorship deals and it is hoped it can raise more than £250,000 for charitable causes including the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
The festival’s chief executive, Chichester-based businessman Steve Lawrence, told The News: ‘This will be one of the biggest things to happen in Portsmouth for quite some time.
‘The whole idea behind the air festival is to do something for Portsmouth. The company is not-for-profit – all the money we make will be put back in the business for the next year’s show and we want to make a lot of money for charity. It’s commercially driven. We’ve not asked the council for any money because we aim to cover our own costs.
‘We decided as an event it should be free and of benefit to the community. It’s about putting Portsmouth on the map.’
The full programme is being drawn up in the coming months and the organisers are meeting officials from the Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday to confirm air space clearance on the day.
Organisers say the festival will also see Southsea Common packed with things for people to do while the aircraft zoom overhead.
There will be static aircraft displays, craft activity tents, and a festival village with food and bars. It will all end with fireworks at 11pm.
Businesses have already begun pledging financial support for the festival, including the global aircraft giant Vector Aerospace which has its UK base in Gosport.
Ken Doig, business development manager for Vector, said: ‘This will be a fantastic event for Portsmouth.
‘As a company we work with the military on a daily basis so we are always looking at ways of supporting military charities. It will also raise awareness of the aerospace industry in Portsmouth.’
Portsmouth City Council is expected to give approval soon for the common to be used. The Lord Mayor, Cllr Cheryl Buggy, said: ‘I was very pleased to learn of the plans for the air festival for August 2012 and I am pleased to add my support to those plans.’
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 28 comments to this article
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Pompey BD
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 12:51 PM"for this to be a success PCC will have to have learned from past experience." That'll be a FIRST! LOL. BD
Graham Wheatley
Friday, November 25, 2011 at 08:04 AMPirate Pete, don't go then. Many people have the same view about football, or tennis, or golf. Stay in and watch Bargain-Hunt or Cash in the Attic. --- This has the potential to be a GREAT event, however it WILL need managing carefully. Not so much the show itself, but access to both Portsea Island and thence to the seafront. As we all know there are only three main road routes in&out, as well as the railway line and the ferries into Portsea. Most people will likely be coming in by road and for this to be a success PCC will have to have learned from past experience. In 1994 when we hosted the D-Day 50th Anniversary commemorations we'd changed the northern part of Commercial Road from dual lanes in-out, to 3-in and 1-out. There were delays there because most people attempted to leave by the same route that they arrived. At IFoS-Traf200 people were waiting for over 4 hours for their Park&Ride buses back to Cosham. That will certainly have deterred many people from coming back for other big events. ***** Can we PLEASE not have any scheduled roadworks on either the Eastern Road, Copnor Road, London-Kingston-Fratton Roads, or on the M275-Mile End Road for a day either side of this event? ***** If there are, then it will cause chaos and give more bad-press to both PCC and this great city of ours. --- I've travelled to numerous airshows and press events over the last 30 years and even the big events like RIAT at RAF Fairford, SBAC Farnborough Air Salon and the former Biggin Hill Air Fair have all suffered in the past when traffic arrangements had not been thought through carefully. For us in Portsmouth this should be (and is) more of a worry due to the already restricted access to a piece of land with water on three sides. People won't thank us if they spent the better part of the day stuck on the Eastern Road and effectively missed the flying displays. --- I wish the organisers every success and hope that people will visit Portsmouth for this event and then go away happy with their experience of the day. A large part of that will be down to how the traffic is managed (or not). PLEASE! NO ROADWORKS IN-PLACE FROM 17th-19th AUGUST 2012!!
pirate pete
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 11:10 PMHow exciting standing on the common looking skywards at planes flying in the sky. Must be very similar to being stuck in a traffic jam on the M27 watching cars whizzing by on the opposite carriageway
Prozium
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 11:09 PMSuperb idea, look at how it benefits Bournemouth each year, yes it may be a transport nightmare (but I'm sure changing the park & ride scheme for one weekend won't hurt) it does provide a lot of economic benefits. The council should milk as many opportunity to bring people to Portsmouth next year, with thousands coming to the UK for the Olympics it's good to leave an impression!
Scumstomper.
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 10:05 PMThis is great. Having attended Bournemouth Airshow each year for the last few years, it will certainly be a big crowd puller and help fill the coffers for the city. Maybe even generating enough cash to bail out Mr Antonov!!
moonshine
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 08:37 PMBrilliant! Also as they've come a long way it wouldn't take much additional effort for the visiting aircraft to do a round trip around Stokes Bay, Lee on Solent, Ryde, Hayling and perhaps even a race around the forts. That way a lot more people will benefit from a fantastic idea.
Cullenski
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 07:32 PMwell said, K84. Will you lot stop being a load of moaners and just look on the bright side. THEY ARE DOING THIS FOR CHARITY!!! and it is free as well. personally, I think that I'll def. be going as I love planes :)
ALANBALLSBOOTS
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 03:18 PMWELL SAID MINTY
MINTMADNESS
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 03:12 PMWhat a great idea for the city, I did enjoy the yearly ritual of going to the Southsea Show though.
blue and true
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 03:02 PMlets hope a warplane drops something on st faireys
ALANBALLSBOOTS
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 02:53 PMWont be so fantastic if a plane crashes like so many are doing at shows of this nature as they have been doing . I for one wont be going .If i want to look at planes ill look up to the sky every day i see them lol
Sir JJ
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 02:31 PMWhat a fantastic idea. It would also be good to have a military vehicle show like they used to have in May every year on the common at the same time raising money for armed forces charities. The only problem is, I'm away that weekend but it's something Portsmouth has been needing for ages. I also agree about the Southsea show, I had it's day and the council did well to give it up.
blue bob
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 01:38 PMThe Southsea show was way past it's sell by date, this on the face of it promises to be something new & different, the only possible drawback could be the unpredictable weather which could prevent aircraft taking to the skies.
Tman
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 01:09 PMSix months time, so that gives the "I had to queue for the toilet" and "I paid five quid for a burger" and " I had to walk home afterwards" habitual whiners time to rehearse thier oh-so-predictable comments, and time for the News to plan the also-predictable "day after" negativity. I wonder who'll be the first to moan "I didn't even get to sit in the cockpit"?
hatchie61
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 12:58 PMi am looking forward to this,about time they did something on the common sins southsea show shut down,even the kite festi going down hill,all the big tents where missing.
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