Blackpool Air Show cancelled for second year running due to coronavirus pandemic

VisitBlackpool bosses made the 'extremely difficult' decision to axe the free event, which was supposed to take place on August 7 and 8, due to uncertainty about the staging of mass events, despite the Goverment's plans to ease lockdown restrictions in the upcoming months.

The latest Government roadmap guidance has earmarked social distancing restrictions to be lifted on June 21 - but there is no guarantee that this will be the case.

Event organisers said there is no clear picture on how free outdoor events can benefit from proposed mitigation measures, such as Covid-19 testing or so-called vaccine passports.

Coun Gillian Campbell, Cabinet Member for Tourism and Culture for Blackpool Council said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision to make, but throughout this pandemic our primary focus has been on protecting residents and visitors. As we move out of lockdown that focus will not change.

“Whilst we have an urgent desire to get our economy back on its feet as quickly as possible, we are committed to reopening tourism in a way that is both safe and enjoyable for our visitors.

“As it stands, there is no ready-made solution for managing large-scale outdoor events such as the Air Show and so it makes it impossible to plan ahead. We know that many other event organisers have faced a similar dilemma.

“But rest assured the Blackpool Air Show will be back and we have already made provisional arrangements for the 2022 event to be staged over the weekend of August 6 and 7. In the meantime, we will work closely with resort partners over the coming weeks and months to ensure that our resort emerges from this crisis with a strong and vibrant tourism offer.”