Sunderland Airshow cancellation prompts fears that it won't return

Sunderland councillors have been told that the city’s Airshow will not take place next year - the fourth year in a row the event has been cancelled.

The event didn't go ahead in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, with COVID-19 also being blamed for the cancellation of the Airshow this summer.

Next year’s Airshow was provisionally scheduled for July 2023 but councillors were informed by email that the event wouldn’t take place “in light of the city’s ambition to be carbon neutral” and due to escalating costs.

Commenting Lib Dem city councillor Heather Fagan said:

“Families in Sunderland and across the North East will be gutted by the news that the Airshow isn’t going to go ahead in 2023. It’s a well-loved event that anyone who grew up in Sunderland has fond memories of going to as a child.

“This is now the fourth year in a row that the Sunderland Airshow has been cancelled. People are rightly asking if we will ever have an airshow in Sunderland again.

“This latest revelation is also part of a worrying trend of events in Sunderland being cancelled, postponed or under performing – such as this year’s Lamplight festival being cancelled late in the day at a cost of £142,000 to the taxpayer.

“With the illuminations now being a ticketed event, Council bosses need to make sure we have a decent events strategy that helps the local economy and provides free-to-attend events for local families like the Airshow used offer.”

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