Southport
Air Show 2013
Photograph by Patrick
Trollope.
THE Southport Air
Show's flying programme is
quite unique. It is the only UK air show where aircraft can land
and take off in front of the public on a beach. The show usually
draws around 80 thousand people, over the 2 days, to see the
military displays, as well as a wide range of civilian and
historic aircraft that perform in the skies above.
The 2013 show should have
taken place over 14 September and 15 September, but sadly
Sunday's events were called off because of a "Yellow
Warning of Wind" being issued by the UK Met Office. Many
questioned the prediction on the Saturday, as the wind was
virtually nonexistent and for the most part Saturday was fairly
warm with a blue sky. This prediction however proved to be
valid, as overnight the weather changed quickly and on the
following day, as forecast, the gale force westerly winds and
heavy showers lashed the coast.
A
spokesman for the organizers of the event on the Saturday
said that:- "It is a shame, but safety has to be of
paramount importance. The heavy rain and high winds that are
forecasted for Sunday and Monday have left us with no option
other than to call off the event."
This was the second time the
organisers have had to cancel the show; the last time being back
in
2010, when heavy rain flooded
the already waterlogged beach.
For those who did attend the
2013 event, Saturday's show was extremely impressive. A few
changes to the programme had been made, but it all went like
clockwork in the eyes of of the public on the ground.
Sadly on Saturday parking was
an issue, as much of the beach was again waterlogged and car
parking places had to be reduced. That meant the remaining
places filled up far more quickly than normal. The
waterlogged beach also affected the PA system, as the speakers
could not be placed on the beach. The only other small glitch
was with the WIFI, but that is nit picking.
The flying displays were
fantastic and with good commentary on the brand new addition,
Southport Air Show
Radio, the loss of the PA
on the beach and WIFI proved to be irrelevant.
We took huge amounts of shots
and a few video clips of the action and we
truly wish to say a very big "Well Done!" to all
who ran this event, and in response to the few who challenged
the decision to scrap the event on the Sunday, again, it was a
"Good Call!"
We hope to see this event
return next year, as it is such a terrific draw for tourists and
gives a very much needed boost to the local economy each year.
To see Part 1 of our
photographic coverage, please click on
here
now.
For details of refunds for
people who booked tickets for Sunday, go to:-
visitsouthport.com.
Please do
not forget to tell us your views about this year's show via
emailing
newsroom:-
news24@southportreporter.com.
Video footage and lots more
photos will also be added in the next issue, so after checking
out this weeks editions pictures from this event, do not forget
to look our next issue!
B.O.A. 70th Anniversary
DVD
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THE
video footage we have taken at the 70th BOA events this
year in Liverpool has now been fully edited is available
to buy, on a DVD, from our Online
Shop,
on Mersey Reporter very soon. For each DVD sold,
£3.00 will go to the Liverpool's Lord Mayor's Charity
Appeal. (Registered Charity No. 229539) At this
stage we can only do UK postage options, but if you are
outside the UK, you can still order copies, but only by
emailing us to:-
news24@merseyreporter.com
with your FULL address and we will get back to you with
a postage cost and a payment link, should you wish to
continue. |
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