8,000 attend Air Show

Welshpool’s burgeoning reputation as an events town reached a new high this weekend, but the incredible crowd numbers who flocked to the town brought a whole set of logistical challenges of their own!

With Cosford Air Show sold out in Shropshire, an estimated 3,000 extra visitors from across the UK continued over the border to Welshpool, placing an increased strain on the venue for the Bob Jones Memorial Air Show.

But what a day it turned out to be. The problems of toilet shortages and the like were tackled head on by the hard working organisers who ended up entertaining around 8,000 paying punters on the show site in glorious sunshine.

“The air displays were something to be seen, fantastic,” said Town Clerk Robert Robinson. “However, the numbers did bring their own problems in that extra toilets had to be brought in early afternoon. Why the numbers were up is not a mystery, as Cosford were sold out and were turning people away at 9.30am in the morning. We estimate that around 3,000 of them came onto Welshpool instead.”

Locals showed their backing in record numbers too, heeding MyWelshpool’s call last week for them to show support by buying tickets rather than expect a freebie on the surrounding hills. Our story was picked up by the BBC and ITV, sending publicity for the event UK-wide and sucking in even more enthusiasts.

It appears the summer of events shows no sign of abating with a number still being lined up over the coming weekends.

PICTURES: These stunning images were kindly provided by Ian Francis, from Forden. To see his full portfolio, visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200619141974557.1073741872.10400