Windermere Air Festival 2012 is cancelled

Organisers Bluestone Events, who ran the event commercially for the first time last year, announced it would not be staging the show in 2012 due to the ‘economic climate’ and funding being squeezed.

The company feared that if the show went ahead it could face a substantial loss or be forced to pass on high costs to visitors.

Bluestone’s Kate Thomas said: “It is with regret that we have been forced to withdraw from the Windermere Air Festival but the prevailing econo-mic climate has made it impossible for us to stage the event, as the risk it would pose would simply be too great.”

Pat Crowfoot, President of the Rotary Club of Windermere, which organised the first ten air shows, has said that the club hoped someone will take it over in the future.

“I would like to thank Bluestone for making a success of this year’s festival. Without their involvement, it simply wouldn’t have taken place, as it has grown too big for a voluntary service organisation like ours to undertake,” he said.

“The Rotary Club hopes, when economic conditions improve, that a private company will re-launch it with the goal of making it better than ever.”

The club’s Clive Langley, said that it could not run the £40,000 air show because it was already committed to hosting the Bowness Bay Blues Festival next year.

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said he would do all he could to help save the air show.

“The air show is a real boost to the local tourist sector and I am keen to support anyone who wants to try to resurrect the event,” he said.

“It is a high point in the calendar for thousands of people.”

Ian Stephens, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: "Obviously it is very disappointing that the air show will not go ahead in the coming year.

The cancellation will inevitably have a negative affect on many local businesses.

"Let’s hope that this a temporary setback and that the event is reinstated.”