Virtual Bournemouth Air Festival

About Us

Virtual Bournemouth Air Festival 2020
Celebrating, land, air, sea and community…more than just a virtual air show, a virtual festival!

A ‘take off’ of a different kind has been planned for what would have normally been Bournemouth’s summer highlight the much anticipated 13th air festival.  This year, the team behind the event have been working with Centre VR in Bournemouth to broadcast an online festival – celebrating all that is loved about it…on land, at sea, in the air and community fun!

Broadcasting online and via social media platforms, the virtual air festival 2020 will be live Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd August from Europe’s largest VR Centre with support from Live TV.  Entertainment will have hourly themes including Friday’s Royal Navy, Night Air and Air Festival Celebrations, Saturday’s Royal Air Force hour, the Red Arrows and Festival Fun and Sunday’s Daredevil Flying, Vintage Hour, a not to be missed Army slot. 

FRIDAY – starts approx. 3pm
Fancy dress Friday – get your best flying outfit on, dress as a tank or an aircraft!  Send your pics in to us via the Facebook page
3pm Welcome – ‘doors to manual…lets take off!
4pm Royal Navy hour – aircraft carriers, STEM, interviews and cheesy hammy eggy!
5pm Celebrate the Air Festival 
6pm Night Air – flying, fireworks and where it all began

SATURDAY – starts approx. 1pm
Super Saturday!
1pm Welcome aboard
2pm RAF Hour – presenting a virtual village experience
3pm Red Arrows – STEM, engineering, interviews, tours and more
4pm Festival Fun – craft, interviews and competitions
5pm Night Air – music and displays

SUNDAY – starts approx. 12noon
12pm Daredevil flying hour – hold on to your stomach!
1pm Vintage hour – dancing, cars and flying
2pm Army hour – tanks, tours and terrific fun
3pm Into land

There’s also the chance to find out more about the festival’s armed forces nominated charities, the Soldiers Charity, Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity, Royal Air Force Association and RAF Benevolent Fund.

Presented by Andy Marlor who has previously fronted Air Festival TV and everyone’s favourite, voice of the air festival, George Bacon, entertainment is live online. Viewers can engage with competitions, including the chance to win exclusive prints and even help to design next year’s brochure front cover, fancy dress Friday, online voting and Facebook Q&A sessions with star pilots! You can tune in on the hour and watch back online via the official YouTube channel Love Bournemouth – so you can pick and choose what you want to watch without having to watch it all day.

Supported by Wave105, Daily Echo and Hotel Miramar (supporters of the Strikemaster Pair and vintage hour prize), there will also be an art and craft session with Martin Bridge, who famously created the air show in his back garden for his family which went viral at the start of ‘lockdown’, and a specially recorded acoustic music set from Roy Stride, lead singer from Scouting for Girls, who have previously appeared on the Wave105 ‘Night Air Stage’. 

Squadron Leader Martin Pert, Red 1 and Team Leader of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the virtual Bournemouth Air Festival – it’s one of our favourite, best-attended venues of the display season, and if we can’t be over the Pier or at a meet-and-greet on this occasion we’ll be online, doing something a little different for 2020.”

The Air Festival will be back 2nd-5th September 2021.