Airbourne 2014 enjoyed a record year with its biggest ever crowd this weekend. With higher than usual visitors throughout the four days, the biggest ever crowd proved to be on Saturday with an unprecedented number of visitors.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors lined the seafront to get a glimpse of the Red Arrows 50th anniversary display the world’s first public display of two Lancaster bombers in formation for over 50 years.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism & Leisure, Cllr Carolyn Heaps said “This has been an amazing year for Airbourne and a wonderful showcase for the town after what has been a very difficult few weeks. The Lancaster formation was just awesome and an emotional experience for many people. I am delighted we were able to share this with some very special veterans on Thursday and Friday, as well as the many thousands of people attending the show.”

Programme sellers and the information tent along with various other places were extremely busy as programmes sold out by the end of the weekend, along with car parks around the town which were at full capacity as hundreds of thousands flocked to the seafront for the event.

Airshow fans from more than 60 countries watched Airbourne streamed live on line with over 1,000 viewers at any one time.

As well as record crowds, Saturday proved to be a day for romance with a marriage proposal on the Airbourne Live stage, also broadcast live on the big screen. Paul Neill travelled over 1,000 miles at the last minute to be with girlfriend Emma Cox, and surprised her with a public announcement in front of thousands on the beach. Airbourne was also the favourite photo spot for newlyweds who came straight from their wedding to get a picture with Optimus Prime and the Red Arrows.

Sunday evening saw an impressive crowd as thousands gathered for the Airbourne finale of fireworks sponsored by Frontier Fireworks and Ansvar. Crowds came early to enjoy the O’Briens Flying Circus Display take flight and to watch the entertainment on the new live stage with Heart and acts such as Hot Detroit, The Mend and headliner Luke Friend from X Factor. Fans also enjoyed Canditron before the fireworks, a fantastic dancing robot display.

The live stage was also a hit the rest of the days with Jamie Laing, De’Vide, Fo Sho’s, SS4A Street Dance squad, Steve Hewlett and many others drawing the crowds between flying displays.

Fans were also glad to see a fantastic tri-service area and ground attractions on the Western Lawns, Wish Tower Slopes and beaches as well as the popular BBC World War One at Home village.

Shadow Cabinet Member for Tourism & Leisure Cllr Phillip Ede said “A stunning and memorable year in Airbourne’s 22 year long history. Some wonderful new attractions have added a great new dimension to the show and attracted many new first-time visitors to the town which is great for business. Our thanks go to the armed forces, emergency services, bucket collectors and many more organisations and volunteers working behind the scenes on this incredible show.”

Airbourne returns from 13 – 16 August 2015. For more information visit www.eastbourneairshow.com

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