First Portsmouth Air Show Cancelled

The very first Portsmouth Air Festival - due to take place this summer - has been cancelled.

Organisers have told Capital part of its down to not having enough money to 'do it justice' but they don't think they could compete with the Olympic games.

The festival that had been planned for Saturday 18th August 2012 will now be held in 2013, with the initial dates of August 10th and 11th being provisionally targeted.

The organisers say it's an unfortunate decision, but postponing the festival will allow for the appropriate finances to be put in place, and will create a bigger and better event for the public next year. There has been a significant lack of available investment this year which stems from not only the current economic situation, but also from the likes of corporately competing with events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London and Weymouth.

Whilst the situation had been under control, the rising cost of event insurance, alongside the changes in policies of some suppliers (in light of recent events), has meant that it's simply not possible to put the event on with the original budget.

Director of Communications Matt George said "Whilst it is immensely disappointing for all involved it was the only decision that was realistically available to us, postponing the event allows us to put the appropriate level of finances in place in order to do the show and the Portsmouth public justice."

He continued, "It's also not as simple as just the financials, there have been other unforeseen challenges mounting recently including the decreasing amount of available apron space for Jet aircraft, the added pressure on our cities infrastructure that the Portsmouth v Bournemouth game will cause, and finally when you add in the unpredictability of the weather currently (and the potential that has to ruin our park and ride provisions), it's just become completely uncontrollable! Come 2013 at least half of these issues will hopefully be a distant memory."

David Williams, Portsmouth City Council Chief Executive added: "It is a great shame that Portsmouth Air Festival has been postponed this year, but I can understand the difficulties faced in the current climate. We hope the organisers will be able to secure substantial sponsorship so the event can go ahead next year."