Fuel threat to air display
Tuesday 24th June 2008, 3:00PM BST.
RISING fuel prices and a lack of local sponsorship could mean the end of Jersey’s International Air Display.
An extra £40,000 needs to be found if the world-famous event is to survive, according to organiser Mike Higgins.
‘With fuel prices rising further and further, it has got me extremely worried,’ he said. ‘If we lost a lot of sponsorship this year, we would be finished.
‘I keep looking at the figures and wondering how we are going to bridge this gap. We need a lot more financial backing for the event. I worry with the way things are going this year. We did lose a small amount last year but we can’t afford a second year of losing money.’
* The Red Arrows have traditionally attracted large crowds along Victoria Avenue
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About time the States dipped into its pocket and funded an event that attracts visitors to the island!
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“World famous” you must be kidding! The show goes round the south coast of the UK and does various events – it is not unique to Jersey.
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I think that not only the cost but most importantly the environmental impact should be the reason why this air display should not go ahead – I think it is completely outrageous that third world countries like Bangladesh whose land is already being taken over by rising tides due to global warming should have to take the brunt of the western worlds ignorance around the impact of such events. What sort of message do you think you are sending out by hosting this type of event.
I am firmly dead against this type of event for environmental reasons.
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Here we go again, it’s one excuse after another and it almost always boils down to more funds needed if this event is to go ahead.
No doubt it WILL go ahead just as it always does, but Mike Higgins is likely to be saying the same thing next year, it’s like listening to a broken record!
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As a keen aviator I have witnessed a number of air displays around the World and would certainly consider the Jersey air display to be amongst the top events. Not only for the variety of aircraft both old and modern, but also for what a number of the aircraft represent both historically and to those who are involved.
It should not be forgotten that it is a show that attracts tourisim and raises funds for local charities. Jersey does not have many Island wide events that can attract International interest, speaking from the other side of the World showing my colleauges video and brochure products from the displays, they are certainly in awe of the spectacle.
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Does it really attract visitors to the Island? The organisers claim it does but in realtiy it is held in the week after the schools go back and finance visitors are all back in town. Looking at the crowds on the front most of them are Islanders with their picnic chairs. Not tourists.
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