Star turns announced for annual air show

More than four hours of aerial acrobatics will fill the skies over two afternoons on Sunday August 7 and Monday August 8.

Visitors and residents are expected to pack onto the Promenade between North and Central Piers to enjoy the free spectacle which showcases the best in British aviation.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which features a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster Bomber, will take centre stage in what has been promised will be an extremely patriotic programme.

As well as the Warton-built Typhoon roaring across the horizon, there will be aerobatic displays from Team Raven, the Global Stars and Team Trig as they perform a set of aerial ballet with breath-taking sequences of loops and rolls.

The Blackpool Air Show is one of the longest running air shows in the world.

Coun Gillian Campbell, deputy leader of Blackpool Council, said: “This year marks the 107th annual Blackpool Air Show and I have absolutely no doubt it will be as fantastic as ever.

“The line-up looks superb and this truly is an event for all the family, the show runs over two days and is perfect for both local residents and visitors.

“I hope people will be able to come along and stay for the two days and enjoy all that the show and the resort has to offer.”

As well as the aerial displays, there will also be a range of stalls, stands and attractions on the ground from the friends of the Red Arrows, Simulator Supplies, Flyzone, Battle of Britain, and the RAF Benevolent Fund.

VisitBlackpool is putting on the Air Show in association with Smooth Radio which will be present between 10am and 4pm on the Sunday, bringing along its silent disco.

Helen Mansell, vice-president of hoteliers group StayBlackpool, said they were looking forward to a bumper weekend.

She said: “We are hoping for great weather so everybody can enjoy it as the air show is always pretty spectacular.

“That weekend also coincides with the Punk Festival so the town is always colourful and bright.

“I don’t know anyone who has a spare room that weekend, because it is jam-packed already, and the air show will also be great for bringing in the day-trippers.”

The air show traditionally attracts tens of thousands of people to the resort.

For the last few years it has been held over two days in order to encourage people to stay overnight and boost hotel trade.

Blackpool put on the very first official air show in Britain in 1909 which was the same year French flyer Louis Bleriot made the first historic crossing of the English Channel.

This year the Civil Aviation Authority has tightened up regulations around air shows in the UK following last year’s crash at the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex.

Eleven people were killed when a Hawker Hunter crashed.

But that incident happened over land, whereas Blackpool’s show takes place over the sea.

Increased charges and rules over the distance between displays and the crowd have been imposed for some UK events.