JUST £273 was made from public donations to contribute towards this year’s Bournemouth Air Festival, the Echo can reveal. 

Previously, BCP Council said it needed to raise £100,000 for the air festival to go ahead, with the remaining being funded by the authority to break even. 

In addition to the public donations, £52,800 was made from donations by Aerobates, Rolls Royce, South-Western Railway and Coastal BID. 

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Of the total commercial activity £67,265 was made onsite with the remainder before the event – although some invoices are being finalised so this isn’t a full account. 

An Echo Freedom of Information revealed that £448,829 in addition to the above sponsorship and donation income (£501,902 total) was brought. 

(Image: Rob Fleming)

This was from trading income, brochure sales, park and ride, premium parking, donations and sponsorship, the council said. 

Richard Herrett, cabinet member for destination, leisure and commercial operations, said the public donation appeal was to test how much appetite residents had for funding the air show. 

He told the Echo: “We have always been open about the need for the council to explore new ways of funding the Air Festival, and as part of this exploration we tested the public appetite for funding future events through donations. 

“It is evident from the amount raised that there is a low desire for this and so we are not currently progressing the idea.” 

BCP Council stressed that the current figures given are an “incomplete picture” of the income generated for or by the air show. 

A spokeswoman said: “We are unable to give a complete picture of the figures for the Bournemouth Air Festival as we are in the middle of the financial year, which means that the reconciling of our income and expenditure for the event is ongoing.” 

Last month, the Echo exclusively revealed that California-based air show operator Pacific Airshow has been holding talks with BCP Council about taking on a three-day show for 10 years. 

Culture cabinet member Andy Martin previously said at cabinet meeting in early October the new show could be a “different beast” and would be commercialised, specifically between the two piers. 

During the four-day festivals, it cost the local authority between £400k and £500k to fund the event that always brought in more than 500,000 visitors.