The countdown is on for the Bournemouth Air Festival as more displays and attractions are announced.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit the town on 31 August for the free four-day event.
In a first for the festival, the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco plane will join the line up and making their debut will be the Starlings Aerobatic team, who will bring a two aircraft aerobatic display to the event.
Visitors will be treated to a new performance by former RAF Tornado pilot Richard Goodwin in his unique G-JPIT bi-plane, which he has recently reengineered to include two ATM Lynx Jet engines.
Making a welcome return will be the Yakovlev 50 and the Norwegian Historical Squadron with their classic jet the deHavilland Vampire FB.52
The Night Air programme will include The Firebirds Display Team and Otto the Schweizer 300C helicopter with their vibrant pyrotechnics, not forgetting the Typhoon with its roaring night display.
Back on land, and in another first for the festival, Madame MOJO’s Cabaret Club will be offering performances throughout the four days.
Visitors can also take advantage of funfairs, big screens showing films and 1.5 miles of food and drink stalls.
Portfolio Holder for Connected Communities and Tourism, Cllr Millie Earl, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back for this year’s Bournemouth Air Festival.
“An incredible amount of work has gone into ensuring this event will be fun for everyone.
Festival Director Jon Weaver said: “We encourage everyone to travel sustainably to the festival and try the Park and Ride, walk or cycle their own bike or a Beryl bike to the festival.
“If you are from out of town, we have some excellent coach operators offering great prices down to the festival.
“We’ve been made aware of planned strike action on the trains on Saturday 2 September and we are waiting for confirmation on how this will affect trains. Please check the South Western Railway website for more information.
“While enjoying the festival, please help keep our beautiful seafront clean by recycling and disposing of your rubbish responsibly and leaving only footprints.”
Also returning to the festival will be the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, who will be performing Sunday morning 11am-12pm and the Beat Retreat Sunset Ceremony in the Lower Gardens on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6.45pm.
The Commando Recruiting Team will be giving Unarmed Combat demonstrations on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6.20pm.
Crowd favourites the Red Arrows will perform at 5.30pm on Thursday, 5pm on Friday and Saturday and 2.45pm on Sunday. You can get up to date access to the full Flying programme by purchasing the Coronation Souvenir programme here.
The RAF Typhoon will display each day and the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster will perform the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
There’s still time to snap up the last few VIP hospitality tickets for the best view of the festival here.
Editor’s notes:
For more information on Morebus routes through the festival see here. Thanks to the current government bus subsidies, the fare is £2 per single journey, so it’s cheaper than ever to travel by bus and a greener way too.
For more information on train strikes, please visit the South Western Railway website.
Buy tickets to Madame Mojo’s Cabaret club here.
For information on what BCP Council are doing to make the festival more sustainable, please see here.
For more information on the displays and aircraft as they are being announced please go to the Bournemouth Air Festival website or stay up to date on social media: Facebook: @bournemouthairfestival, Instagram: bmthairfest, Twitter: @BmthAirFest
Press Information: Julia.bullas@bcpcouncil.gov.uk. Commercial and sponsorship opportunities: cara.donn@bcpcouncil.gov.uk