place

Sunderland International Airshow

1988 establishments in England2022 disestablishments in EnglandAirshows in the United KingdomAnnual events in EnglandEvents in Tyne and Wear
Recurring events established in 1988SunderlandTourist attractions in the City of SunderlandUse British English from March 2016
Avro Vulcan XH558 2009 Sunderland Airshow (1)
Avro Vulcan XH558 2009 Sunderland Airshow (1)

The Sunderland International Airshow was the biggest free annual airshow in Europe, held at the Roker and Seaburn seafronts. It takes place over the course of three days, usually the final weekend in July (Friday to Sunday), and attracts around 2,000,000 spectators every year. The airshow features a large number of planes, including the Red Arrows and the Eurofighter Typhoon. In addition to the planes, the seafront plays host to a range of food counters, stalls and fairground games. The Royal Navy traditionally have a warship off the coast every year, usually HMS Ocean, the adopted warship of Sunderland, however in 2007, HMS Albion made an appearance instead as HMS Ocean had other commitments. The airshow was first held in 1989 as a single day show, and was planned to be a one-off event, when it attracted 250,000 spectators. Due to its success, from 1991 it became a two-day show, and subsequently three days. Due to thick fog and mist in 2008 the airshow was cancelled. The display was also postponed in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some aviation fans stayed the whole weekend. The Friday night launch, which started back in 2010, shows sunset displays for the majority of the night, but the night is rounded off with gliders with sparklers (used in fireworks) during the "settling down" period, and then a large firework display ends it all.Sunderland City Council announced in October 2022 that it has "no plans" to hold the airshow again, after officially cancelling the 2023 airshow, citing the "global climate emergency" and the city’s desire to be carbon neutral by 2040, despite owning nearly 10% in the nearby Newcastle International Airport.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Sunderland International Airshow (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Sunderland International Airshow
Sunderland Seaburn

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Sunderland International AirshowContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 54.929 ° E -1.364 °
placeShow on map

Address


SR6 9NA Sunderland, Seaburn
England, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Avro Vulcan XH558 2009 Sunderland Airshow (1)
Avro Vulcan XH558 2009 Sunderland Airshow (1)
Share experience

Nearby Places

Seaburn
Seaburn

Seaburn is a seaside resort and northeastern suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker. Virtually all of Seaburn consists of low-density private housing interspersed with open parkland, laid out in the middle of the 20th century. Much of the housing is amongst the most expensive in Sunderland, with many large mansion houses situated along the coast, and on adjoining streets. The seafront is home to a sandy blue flag beach, seaside promenades, two amusement arcades, children's playgrounds, fish and chip shops, small guest houses and two 4 star hotels, The Grand Hotel and the Seaburn Inn. The main shopping street is Sea Road, which runs from the seafront up through Fulwell to the Seaburn Metro station. The area around Queens Parade hosts a 'strip' of restaurants, with three Italian, two Indian and two Chinese restaurants in operation as of 2009. Also trading are several pubs and coffee shops. In the late 1980s, the old Seaburn Hall site was redeveloped, with a Morrisons supermarket, new amusement park and leisure and fitness centre. Previously, Seaburn Hall had been a dance hall and live music venue. It was built in 1939 as part of a development scheme which also included the seafront and a funfair.Seaburn was a favourite place of the painter L. S. Lowry. A large Lowry painting is displayed in the local Morrisons supermarket. The area was close to the Sunderland A.F.C. stadium Roker Park and was the origin of the hooligan firm the Seaburn Casuals.The Sunderland International Airshow is held on the coast at Seaburn and Roker and is the largest free event of its kind in Europe, with a variety of aircraft, civilian and military aircraft on display.On the Tyne and Wear Metro Seaburn is served by its own station. The suburb is part of the Fulwell ward on Sunderland City Council, and is represented by three Conservative councillors.