Let's ring in the new year with a sense of city pride

It's out with the old . . . in with the new '“ 2018 has arrived. And Portsmouth has much to look forward to as we gaze into our crystal ball over the coming 12 months.

It’s not as if the city had a bad year in 2017 but the next 365 days should fill us full of confidence that we are a city which is going places.

In 2017 we saw the commissioning of the £3.1bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and 2018 will see the arrival of the first fighters on her decks as testing will begin in what will be one of the final pieces in the puzzle for the vessel.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On the entertainment front in 2017, Portsmouth put itself firmly on the map with festivals such as Victorious and Mutiny.

And the aim in 2018 is to make them even better. Victorious, to take place on the August Bank Holiday weekend, has already anounced that the Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs and Shed Seven will grace the stage while Mutiny has signed up hip-hop singer and rapper Craid David as their headline act for the main stage on the Sunday night.

Last year saw 10,000 beer-lovers through the doors of Oktoberfest and this year the event will be hoping to grow even bigger.

Other things of note as we head into 2018 are the exciting new displays planned to take pride of place at the revamped D-Day Museum, plans to rejuvenate Havant’s aging town centre and another Great South Run.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One of the most important commemorations in 2018 will be the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Communities across the area will be coming together to mark a very important date in history.

The News will be there at all the important events in the coming year.

So, it’s time to look forward with pride at what our great city has in the pipeline. A very happy new year to all in 2018.