The ground displays promise to be exciting once again this year for visitors to the Wales Airshow in Swansea next month

Coinciding with the 50^th anniversary celebrations of Swansea’s city status and Armed Forces Day, the on the ground displays and activities will be offering a range of static and interactive experiences.

Thanks to the extra space being generated by the temporary closure of part of Oystermouth Road over the weekend, the footprint of the event has been increased and displays will include static examples of the Spitfire and Hurricane planes that will be showing off their skills as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – which this year is being sponsored by Great Western Railway.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet Member for Innovation, Regeneration and Tourism said: “The ground events are going to be great again this year and admission, as always, is free.

“Apart from being able to watch the Red Arrows reach for the sky, visitors will also have the chance to try out a Red Arrows simulator as well as a Typhoon

The visit of the ground-based Spitfire and Hurricane is a first for the Wales Airshow and they’ll be accompanied by experts ready to tell the wartime stories of these two iconic Battle of Britain-winning planes.

In addition to these attractions there will be a funfair at the Civic Centre west car park, military displays including a Replica Chinook and the Navy and Marines Virtual Reality Team. They’ll be giving visitors the chance to experience what it’s like to stand on an aircraft carrier as planes take off as well as an interactive boat-riding experience.

New for this year is also the RAF Police Military Working Dogs display which will take place twice a day on the beach area between The Secret Beach Bar & Kitchen (formerly the 360 café) and the old slip bridge.

On the Saturday, the Airshow couples up with Armed Forces Day which  is the annual UK celebration of the debt of gratitude the country owes to the men and women of the Army, Navy and RAF who have served – and still serve – in combat zones around the world. The Armed forces ceremony will take place at the Cenotaph on Saturday July 6^th from 10.30am

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “We’re expecting over 250,000 people to enjoy the Wales Airshow, with local businesses due to benefit from millions of pounds worth of extra spending.

He said: “The city centre will be very much open for business as normal and it’s proximity to the Airshow means that people can have the best of both worlds, just a short stroll away.  As with any major event of this scale, there will be a large volume of visitors coming into the city over the weekend. For safety reasons, there will diversions in place and we would  advise travellers to allow extra time when planning their journey.
Visit www.swansea.gov.uk/airshow or www.walesairshow.co.uk to download the Airshow App or to find out more information about road closures, diversions and event car parks and park and ride services.

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