Swansea’s Wales National Airshow set to be annual event

WALES’ biggest free show – the Wales National Airshow – is set to become an annual event in Swansea.

An estimated 170,000 turned out for the weekend summer curtain-raiser and it’s been such a tremendous success that Swansea Council hopes it’ll be back next year too.

Cllr Rob Stewart, Leader of the Council, said: ‘Swansea has made the Wales National Airshow a huge success in recent years, and now is the time to take the next step and make this an annual event.

“We want this to be something we have in Swansea every summer. We are working on this as part of a full year calendar of events, many of which will be free of charge, which will be delivered for the people of Swansea to enjoy every year.”

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “Anyone who was in Swansea at the weekend would have been thrilled by what they saw.

“The event is funded and organised by Swansea Council and it was a fantastic occasion that’s always been brilliantly supported by the public, which is why we’re now putting together our plans for it to be an annual event, starting next year.”

He added: “We are committed to generating inward investment and raising the profile and reputation of Swansea through events like this. The huge, appreciative crowds also make it very popular with participants like the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

“I’m pleased we are now exploring funding and partnership opportunities to develop and grow the event as the key national airshow for Wales and ensure it becomes an annual feature of our growing events calendar.”

Over the past few years Swansea’s tourism industry has continued to grow thanks to events like the Wales National Airshow.

Independent figures for 2013 – the last time the airshow came to Swansea – showed growth in visitor numbers as well as spend.

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “More than 5,600 jobs in Swansea Bay depend upon tourism and, despite the austerity of recent years, we’ve been bucking trends seen elsewhere in the UK by increasing income and visitor numbers.

“The health of the tourism industry is a strategic issue to the Swansea Bay City Region and to Wales as a whole. The Wales National Airshow has become part of that story and making it a permanent annual fixture will help it to grow and continue to improve its reputation as a great free weekend for all the family, bringing even more visitors to the city and region, from Wales and far beyond.”