Southend air show

[s p a c e m a n]

Southend air show could be dropped by borough council


Things are not looking good for one of the best attractions during the summer here, it is one of the largest in Europe bringing in thousands of spectators. I could turn this into a rant about the wastefulness of the local council and the effect this will have on the income of the local businesses, but I'm also quite interested on what other shows may start being cancelled if this one isn't seen as viable.

[completetangent]

Sad. Although... the current financial situation is bad enough that it ought to stop some types of unnecessary council expenditure. This is an airshow, that's all. It's not as if the council has a guaranteed way of recouping that expenditure. (Yes, I accept that some tourists will spend some more money in the town as a result, but that doesn't turn up in the council coffers.)

I suspect Lowestoft is under the same pressure.

[RosscoPCole]

Very sad.
It will be interesting to see if other councils will follow this. I live in Dorset and look forward to the Bournemouth Air Show. This is over 4 days instead of the 2 at Southend so must cost more to put on. I wonder what price they put on the tourist coming to visit the event and home much they spend whilst there?

[Badvok]

The decision has been made, it's cancelled.

SOUTHEND AIR SHOW 2013

At its meeting on Tuesday 22nd January the Cabinet approved Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s draft budget for 2013/14 to cancel the Southend Air Festival - see council_budget.

Southend Borough Council announced on Monday 14th January 2013 that it planned to cancel the popular Southend Airshow in it's efforts to cut costs. By scrapping the annual Airshow, which brings thousands of tourists to Southend, the council say they will save £130,000. The Southend Airshow would have been in it's 28th year. There has been an Airshow every year on Southend seafront since 1986.

[Daggers89]

I understand why they've done it - but it doesn't stop me being annoyed - I used to love the Southend Air Show.

Could this be a sign of things to come for future Airshows in Southend?

[Badvok]

This is the same feckwit council that spent £150,000 messing around changing parking bays on the sea front then a further £75,000 putting it back to how it was when everyone pointed out the change in parking direction was dumb

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/8888630.Parking_ba...

[Badvok]

Well they managed to spend £320,000 on business furniture in November but can't afford £130,000 for an airshow that brings pleases to thousands and profit to local businesses

£319,210.46 Flexiform Business Furniture Ltd

http://www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/download/551/...

Excuse me while I boil some piss

[s p a c e m a n]

^ Those were among the many reasons why I felt annoyed that this was happening, as do many others.

[Chrisgr31]

It does say "planned" to cancel. Whats the betting they hope the shock will bring out some commercial sponsors?

I'd assume Eastbourne will also be under pressure.

[MOTORVATOR]

Badvok said:

This is the same feckwit council that spent £150,000 messing around changing parking bays on the sea front then a further £75,000 putting it back to how it was when everyone pointed out the change in parking direction was dumb

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/8888630.Parking_ba...

I won't get too far into that as I am bit too close to it but I will let you know that £225k wasn't just spent on a bit of paint on the road as the Echo would like you to believe.

As for the airshow itself they have no commercial support coming forward this year to pick up the shortfall as in previous years. Somewhat surprising given the expansion of Southend Airport I would have thought.

[Chrisgr31]

MOTORVATOR said:

As for the airshow itself they have no commercial support coming forward this year to pick up the shortfall as in previous years. Somewhat surprising given the expansion of Southend Airport I would have thought.

So you would have thought Stobbarts might chip in some sponsorship, which in turn raises the question as to why they haven't.

[LotusOmega375D]

Well at least it will free up the seashore skyline to enable them to build their late-lamented Super Casino right on the beach!

From 1997 to 2005 I lived in a seafront flat with a balcony offering the best possible viewing spot for the airshow. However, I must confess that even for an aviation fan like myself, the spectacle did seem to deteriorate from year to year.

In 1997 we had the Catalina doing circuits and bumps on the estuary taking off again over the pier. The same year included a breathtaking display by the Frecce Tricolore. In 2000 we had a (brief!) display by a F117a Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. Privately-owned Cold War jets displaying back then included F86 Sabre, Sea Vixen and Canberra. However, by 2012 even the Red Arrows were giving Southend a miss.

The worst year for me was I think 1999; the weather was damp and foggy. The only aircraft we saw all weekend was the Swordfish making one tentative fly past!

I think the Council may have a point that it's run its course now. They can't run it on a shoestring. It's not a good enough air display to bring in true plane spotters and most of the other visitors would probably still come to Southend for the Bank Holiday in any case, since they have no interest in the planes.

[MOTORVATOR]

Chrisgr31 said:

MOTORVATOR said:

As for the airshow itself they have no commercial support coming forward this year to pick up the shortfall as in previous years. Somewhat surprising given the expansion of Southend Airport I would have thought.

So you would have thought Stobbarts might chip in some sponsorship, which in turn raises the question as to why they haven't.

The £130k they talk about isn't the whole budget for the airshow it's just the shortfall.

In fairness I think Stobbarts have already said they will give the same level of support as the last few years. They provide the airport facilities foc as far as I know.

C2C I think ducked out a couple of years ago despite the new rail facility.

I would have thought Easyjet or another operator that wanted to raise their profile would be the obvious ones but if you're dealing with a budget airline that sees their customers as cargo then I guess that maybe the wrong call.

[Ali Chappussy]

Gotta be honest, we went for a number of years on the trot and found it to be repetative and a bit boring. The last one we went to had a fraction of the stalls that were there in previous years and the flying display had large gaps in it.

I also think that the road infrastructure around Southend puts a lot of people off going. There really is only one way in and one way out if you are heading for the M25. It took us nearly two hours to clear Southend last time and we said after that, never again.

It's always a shame when we lose an airshow like this but in the long run, I think the council have made the right decision to scrap it.

[completetangent]

Ali Chappussy said:

It took us nearly two hours to clear Southend

Lucky barsteward! It took me 20 years, and it'll take XH558 (at least!) to get me back.

[Ali Chappussy]

completetangent said:

Lucky barsteward! It took me 20 years, and it'll take XH558 (at least!) to get me back.

Mwahahahahahaaaa