Air festival begins amid doubts over future

Thousands of people are expected to descend on a seaside town for its annual air show.

The Bournemouth Air Festival begins on Thursday and will run until Saturday along the town's seafront.

BCP Council previously announced it would no longer fund the free air show after this year.

In an update on Thursday, it said the festival may be paused in 2025 to allow a new operator to "plan and refresh" the event for 2026.

This year's event will feature shows from the RAF Typhoons, the Swedish Air Force and the Red Devils army parachute display team.

But the festival's regular main attraction, the Red Arrows, will be absent as the team is on a five-week tour of Canada to help mark the Royal Canadian Air Force's centenary.

The 2024 edition of the air show will be the last to be subsidised by BCP Council, having already been cut from the regular four days to three.

The cuts came as the authority tried to manage a £50m shortfall in its budget.

Earlier this year, BCP Council launched a search for bids for a five-year contract to run the festival from 2025 and said it had talked to "several potential operators".

Council leader Millie Earl said: "Any decision needs to go through the full democratic process. No decision has been made yet and a report is due to go to the council’s cabinet in the autumn.

"A potential future operator could decide to pause the production of an air festival in 2025 to allow time to plan and refresh the event for 2026."

The authority has placed an emphasis on safety at this year's show, with drones banned and travel restrictions implemented around the seafront.

These restrictions include Bournemouth Pier Approach flyover, as well as a marine safety zone restricting boats entering the water under the flight display area.

Richard Herrett, portfolio holder for destination, leisure and commercial operations at BCP Council, said: "The safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Air Festival is paramount, and I encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with our safety advice ahead of time.

"We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to Bournemouth at the end of August for a fantastic, safe and enjoyable time."

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