Air display in doubt as organisers make late call for more sponsorship

Friday 28 July 2023

This year’s air display will not go ahead unless there is a last-minute injection of sponsorship between now and Monday, the organiser has said.

Jersey International Air Display – a not-for-profit company which has organised the free airshow for 23 years – says it needs to find £75,000 before the end of this month to stage the event on Thursday 14 September.

If that money is not found, the event will have to be cancelled, it says. 

The principal reason for this last-ditch attempt for more funding, says JIAD, is the Government’s decision in March to put the event out to tender from next year, and to give it a £40,000 grant for this year’s event – half of what the company was asking for.

Organiser Mike Higgins said: “This call for additional sponsorship is our last throw of the dice.

“The event, which is normally financed through private-sector sponsorship and a Government grant, has been seriously impacted through changes in Government policy towards organisations which receive grant aid.

“In order to determine whether the Government is getting value for money for the grants they make, they have decided to put all such grants out to tender and invite expressions of interest from individuals and organisations to apply for them.”

Mr Higgins said that the changes, which were applied to the Jersey International Air Display from March, are intended to be rolled out to other tourism events from 2024.

Pictured: The French Air Force National Aerobatic Display Team, the Patrouille de France, is booked to attend the air display in September.

However, this has been denied by the Government, which says there has been no change in policy, with the resilience of all organisations which receive public funds being tested to ensure the island gets value for money.

However, Mr Higgins argues that putting the air display funding out to tender earlier this year had a damaging impact, which is now being felt.

“The timing of the new policy, which we were first informed about on 7 March, and which were publicised locally and nationally two days later, required us and any other prospective tenderer to submit their applications by 6 April,” he said.

“The effect of the new policy has been that we lost some of our existing private-sector sponsorship and we found it exceptionally difficult to raise new sponsorship while the Government decided on who would be awarded the grant and because of the associated delays in getting permission from the Director of Civil Aviation to hold this year’s event.”

He added: “The delays caused great uncertainty among existing and potential sponsors who asked what was going on, and we could not tell them as we did not know ourselves because we were in left in limbo for months. 

“It also meant that we could not enter into agreements for the provision of services or make the deposits sometimes requested by suppliers. We also could not confirm with some foreign military and private owners about the participation of their aircraft in the display.”

Mr Higgins said that the grant was half the amount needed because of rising costs and lost sponsorship due to the uncertainty. It means that JIAD is around £75,000 short of what it says it needs to put on the event.

He added that JIAD had contacted more than 100 individuals and organisations for support but had been unable to fill the funding void.

“It is for this reason that we are making a last-minute appeal to the private sector for funding in order to save the event,” he said. “We hope that at least 15 islanders and/or companies will come forward with £5,000 or more to keep this much loved and important date in the island’s social and tourism calendar from being cancelled.”

The former States Deputy said that Monday was the deadline because risk assessments and other required documents would have to be submitted to the DCA next week.

Pictured: The air display often attracts thousands of islanders and visitors to the free event.

Aircraft already booked for this September include the Red Arrows, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the French Air Force National Aerobatic Display Team, the Patrouille de France, and the RAF Parachute Display Team, the Falcons.

If the display is cancelled, it will be the third time in 72 years: the first in 1954 and the second due to the pandemic in 2020. Mr Higgins said that cancellation would have a damaging impact on the island’s reputation, its ability to attract aircraft in the future, and its hospitality industry.

The Government said it was not responsible for putting on the display and it had been clear to JIAD that this year’s £40,000 grant had been a final offer.

In a statement, it said: “On 10 May 2023, Government made a provisional offer of £40,000 to JIAD Ltd to support an air event in 2023. This was the same provisional offer that was made in 2022, which was eventually increased [to £60,000] following a request from the JIAD Event Organiser. 

“The 2023 offer made clear that the provisional sum would not change and that the organiser would be expected to raise other funds through sponsorship and commercial agreements.

“Government received no acknowledgement of the 2023 offer from JIAD Ltd.”

It added: “The Government of Jersey is not responsible for organising air displays in Jersey. Any person or individual who satisfies the Director of Civil Aviation and Bailiff’s Chambers that they are competent to safely organise an air display in Jersey is free to do so.

“Government does not recognise JIAD’s representation of the recent Expressions of Interest process. There has not been a change in Government policy towards organisations that receive grants. It has always been the case that islanders expect Government to test the resilience of grant funding for longstanding events and projects to ensure compatibility with our island’s wider priorities and value-for-money.

“It is not for Government to discuss the commercial partnerships between different third parties, namely JIAD Ltd and any of its existing or potential sponsors.”

Air display day has traditionally been a day off for schoolchildren, with Thursday 14 September designated a 'Inset' day for teachers this year.