Eastbourne Airbourne Goes Global
Eastbourne is celebrating a spectacular weekend with Airbourne 2011 attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the destination to witness the thrilling aerobatics and action-packed arena displays, as well as reaching its biggest ever online audience.For the first time this year Airbourne: Eastbourne International Airshow was streamed live online through the new Airbourne TV and with several websites carrying the feed, the Eastbourne event reached more than 60,000 viewers across the world.
Attracting some of the most visibly busy crowds in the event’s history; Airbourne was also enjoyed by online viewers in countries such as the USA, India, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Italy, France and the Philippines.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Neil Stanley said “What a brilliant four days we have just enjoyed in Eastbourne! Airbourne 2011 really did surpass all expectations and despite a bad start with the weather on Thursday, the rest of the weekend showed Eastbourne to be back on form with bright sunshine and blue skies!
“The seafront was absolutely packed with visitors all here to enjoy our four day flying spectacular and it was a fantastic sight to see so many people enjoying themselves at our fabulous free event. Airbourne TV was a great addition this year meaning that we could raise awareness of Eastbourne across the globe with the live stream and it also offered visitors to the event the chance to watch exclusive interviews with pilots and display crews for the first time.
“Airbourne is a magnificent event for Eastbourne; not only does it bring new visitors to the town spending in local businesses but it also raises the profile of the destination. I’d like to pass on my thanks to the many partners and sponsors who support Airbourne, including the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and the British Army, the emergency service teams and all the concessions and exhibitors who help to fund the how. I’d particularly like to thank the Eastbourne Hospitality Association, who carry out the bucket collection to raise funds towards the future of the event. If anyone missed the bucket collectors on the day, there is still time to donate either in person at the Tourist Information Centre or online via VisitEastbourne.com.
“We would also like to thank our major sponsors Eastbourne Pier, SITA, Stagecoach, Shepherd Neame, Southern Railway, Specsavers, Moira House School, Renault UK, Cherry Broadband and Geo Collins Honda for their generous support of the show.”
This year’s Airbourne welcomed several new displays, including the Royal Navy Black Cats, classic jets Hawker Hunter ‘Miss Demeanour’ and F86 Sabre, and the return of the RAF Tornado, with visitors also pleased to see the Royal Marines Unarmed Combat back in the arena.
Hundreds of visitors lined the arena on Saturday afternoon to meet the Red Arrows for their special ground visit with the display team greeting fans, signing autographs and even practicing their football skills with Brighton and Hove Albion. On Saturday evening, visitors watched and sang along to a screening of the popular 70s movie Grease at the Western Lawns.
Icon Stylists added a new element to the event this year with Hairbourne offering the chance for visitors to have their hair cut by celebrity hairdresser Jal Clarke in return for donations towards the event. Scores of people queued each day for a hair cut and hundreds of visitors watched the hairdressing team in action on the Wish Tower Slopes.
Airshow fans made the most of popular social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to interact with fellow Airbourne visitors and share their comments and photos throughout the event, with the event’s official twitter feed attracting an additional 400 followers during the past week and over 521 new likes on the official facebook page.
Airbourne is set to return to Eastbourne next summer for its 20th anniversary year from 9 – 12 August.
For more information and to contribute to this year’s retiring collection, with 70% of monies going towards Airbourne’s future and 30% to the Eastbourne RNLI Lifeboats go to www.eastbourneairshow.com or call 0871 663 0031.
