Air Show returning to Swansea this summer

Breathtaking aerobatic displays, state-of-the-art aircraft and vintage planes from the past will again be thrilling hundreds of thousands of visitors in the skies above Swansea this summer.

Swansea Council has now confirmed that the free Wales National Air Show will be returning to the city on Saturday July 2 and Sunday July 3.

It’s the first time the Air Show will have been held on two consecutive summers as the council strives to make it an annual event.

Figures show the 2015 Wales National Air Show was worth more than £7.6 million to the local economy. An estimated 170,000 people packed the seafront last July to enjoy displays including the Red Arrows, a Eurofighter Typhoon, Chinook helicopters and aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Ground-based entertainment included tanks, military support vehicles, an assault course and marquees with information on careers in the Armed Forces.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “We made a promise after last summer’s enormously successful Air Show to do all we could to make it an annual event in Swansea. This news shows we’re delivering on that promise.

“It’s our intention to make the yearly Air Show one of the key anchor events of our hugely varied, family-friendly Enjoy Swansea programme. In making this an annual event, we believe this gives us greater opportunities to develop it even further. It makes it much more viable from a commercial perspective – particularly in terms of sponsorship and traders. Importantly, as a fixed date in the annual event calendar, it also gives people a reason to visit and book their holidays in advance, based around the event. There are thousands of local people who don’t want to miss it either.

“The Air Show doesn’t just help raise Swansea’s profile and give local people world class entertainment on their doorstep – it also attracts many thousands of visitors to the city who spend their money in local shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels and other businesses.”

Other features of last year’s Air Show included the Royal Jordanian Falcons aerobatic team, the de Haviland Vampire and Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters.

The Red Arrows performed on both days of 2015’s event, thanks to sponsorship and support from Swansea University.

“The fact that it’s now an annual event has already stimulated interest from a number of prospective commercial partners, so we’re working on putting these sponsorship packages in place and confirming the detail and the line-up of this summer’s event,” said Cllr Francis-Davies. “We’ll keep people up to date with developments over coming weeks and months.”

Keep an eye on www.walesnationalairshow.com for updates.