Swedish fighter jets, daredevil parachute jumps, spectacular firework displays, hassle-free parking and top-class entertainment located on award-winning beaches are just some of the reasons to visit the 2024 Bournemouth Air Festival, Thursday 29 – Saturday 31 August.
The UK’s largest free air festival returns to the beautiful coastline of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole for its 16th outing.
The festival boasts the usual mix of on-the-ground entertainment such as funfairs, military villages and an outdoor cinema and aerobatic displays, including two Swedish jet fighters, the Saab Draken and the Saab Viggen, flying together in England for the very first time.
This year’s strong line up of air displays also includes the Army’s elite parachute team the Red Devils, the B17 Sally B Flying Fortress and the RAF’s Typhoon, which has been repainted to mark 80 years since the D-Day landings, the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.
For those choosing to drive to the south coast, the premium parking scheme is new for 2024. Book ahead for air festival parking – Bournemouth Air Festival
This initiative gives visitors the opportunity to advance book a guaranteed, convenient car parking bay very close to the Air Festival site. The offer includes a number of spaces for Blue Badge Holders and charging bays for electric vehicles.
Booking and paying for the premium parking is very simple, via the RingGo app.
The allocated premium parking sites are located near all the action taking place on the beach between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers and along the East Overcliff.
This year’s Air Festival features military band performances, Armed Forces villages, including the ever-popular Royal Navy Dive Tank, a huge variety of food and drink options and trader stalls, vintage cars, fireworks from Bournemouth Pier and of course beachside funfairs.
On the ground and in between the flying displays, unwind at the outdoor beach Vision Cinema, taking in classic films such as Grease, Mamma Mia, If, Love and Basketball and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The popular Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Village will be located at a prime site on the beach.
The presence of STEM at an event like the Air Festival is designed to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians and a great local example of this is a team of 13 – 16-year-olds from Bournemouth School for Girls, (BSG).
The BSG group will be exhibiting their robotics prowess in the STEM Village, ahead of being the first all-girls team to represent the UK in the world’s largest youth ‘Olympics for robots’ event in Greece later this year.
Cllr Rich Herrett, Portfolio Holder for Destination, Leisure, and Commercial Operations, BCP Council, said: “The Bournemouth Air Festival is an event that has great cultural and economic value to the area.
“The premium parking scheme is part of the council’s bid to sustainably fund the event alongside increasing sponsorship and commercial deals and collaboration with local and national businesses and organisations.
“We would like to thank the Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole business community for their cooperation in all aspects of helping to finance and organise the 2024 Air Festival.
“Working with local and national businesses this sustainable funding model includes sponsorship from organisations such as South Western Railway, Aerobytes, Bournemouth Airport, Rolls Royce, the Highcliff Marriot Hotel, The Oceana Group, Hot Radio and the Daily Echo.”
