With three months still to go before North East Lincolnshire’s biggest crowd-puller, the organisers of Cleethorpes Armed Forces Weekend are already busy making plans for an action-packed programme with something for all the family.
A highlight of the huge event will be the return of the Red Arrows, who are performing a new, nine-aircraft show at locations across the UK this summer. The legendary air display team are due to appear on Saturday, June 29, over Cleethorpes front.
Alex Baxter, managing director of the Armed Forces Major Events Team North East Lincolnshire, said: “There is no doubt the Red Arrows are an attraction and will be a very significant part of the day. These guys are so good and so professional – they have their own following rather like a pop band.
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“They won’t just be doing a flyover, they will be doing a full display. There will of course be plenty of other attractions over the whole weekend, we are always very fortunate in the assets we have.”
Mr Baxter said: “More people come to this than exist in North East Lincolnshire. We are very proud of the high numbers of visitors we get and we have to manage that with the great team of volunteers that I head up.
“We bring together the civil and military communities to ensure the Armed Forces are recognised. It is an opportunity to come along and say thank you for all of the work they do.”
Mr Baxter said the weekend will open on Friday, June 28, with the carnival – now in its third year – which is a big attraction in itself. “The more the merrier,” he said, “people love a carnival.
“We hope to bring back the firework display after what we tried last year, the light show, which wasn’t entirely what people would expect. But we tried it, for a variety of reasons that were forced upon us.”
The weekend will be a mix of military parades with bands, air displays and military ground assets, markets, community activities and entertainment across the whole seafront of Cleethorpes. “This year is significant in that we will be recognising the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, without the success of those we would be living in an entirely different world.”