Air Southwest supporting Plymouth Summer Festival

Air Southwest and the Sutton Harbour Group are proud to be supporters of the first ever Plymouth Summer Festival - an exciting calendar of local, national and international events running from now until the 31st August 2007.

The Plymouth Summer Festival brings together under one banner the huge range of maritime, music, arts and street events taking place in the city over the summer months.

Events this year include the National Fireworks Championships, stadium performances by George Michael and Elton John, the return of the iconic Gipsy Moth IV yacht to Plymouth, the Sutton Harbour Classic Boat Rally, top name concerts at Plymouth Pavilions and city centre highlights like the Plymouth Flavourfest food and drink festival and a giant screen in the city centre for the entire Wimbledon fortnight. There is also a vibrant programme of cultural and artistic events being hosted by the University of Plymouth, the Barbican Theatre and Plymouth Arts Centre.

Added to the city’s permanent attractions including the National Marine Aquarium, the city’s spectacular waterfront, historic Barbican areas, great restaurants and vibrant shopping heartland, it means a day trip to Plymouth should be at the top of the list for every family living in or visiting South West England.

The £100,000 initiative includes a new website - Plymouthsummerfestival.com - and brochure to promote the festival events and ensure visitors and Plymouth residents know exactly what’s in the programme and have the information they need so they can plan ahead.

Visitors to Plymouth will be left in no doubt they have arrived in festival city with a major investment being made in dressing the city with 250 colourful flutter flags and banners on The Hoe, Barbican, City Centre, and lining main approach roads.

David Draffan, of the Plymouth Summer Festival, said: “Plymouth’s summer events program is quite simply one of the best in the country and the envy of many other cities.

“Visitors can be assured of a warm welcome and a packed programme of national and international-standard events, many of them unique to Plymouth, together with top class attractions and a thriving arts and cultural scene. It all adds up to a fantastic package offering something for all the family and deserves to be one of the main reasons why people decide to visit the South West.”

The Plymouth Summer Festival will kick off on May 26 / 27 when the city plays host to a spectacular curtain-raising weekend featuring Elton John at Home Park, Travis at the Pavilions and the Half Marathon on the Hoe, followed on Bank Holiday Monday by celebrations on the Hoe marking of Sir Francis Chichester’s round-the-world yacht Gipsy Moth IV to Plymouth.

The festival will continue until the end of August by which time the city will have provided the stage for more than 25 major events, many of national significance, and dozens more fringe activities.

Air Southwest flies to Plymouth from London Gatwick, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Bristol and Jersey, with fares from just £27.