Newcastle gets ready for huge festival crowds

18 June 2014

TENS of thousands of visitors are expected in Newcastle on August 9 for the fourth annual Festival of Flight.

The world famous Red Arrows will headline the event which will once again be sponsored by Kilkeel-based B/E Aerospace.

Down Council chairman William Walker, hosted a preview of the event at the Slieve Donard Hotel last week where there was a display of a vintage Spitfire on the lawn and a flypast by two chipmunk planes.

He said the BE Aerospace Festival of Flight was the “jewel in our summer events crown”, attracting more than one hundred thousand people into our region each year.

“Events are a vital strand of our ambitious tourism drive and we continue to work, in partnership with Newry and Mourne Council, to create a year-round programme of activities, events and attractions for the Mournes,” he said.

“The support of B/E Aerospace gives us the extra investment which allows us to spread our wings, enhance programme content and raise profile, ensuring best value for our ratepayers.

Martin McGinley, vice president and managing director of the B/E Aerospace Kilkeel, which employs 830 people in the manufacture of aircraft seating for almost all the world’s major airlines, said he was delighted to help the event take off.

“We manufacture around a quarter of the world’s airline seats, so this is a perfect association for us,” he said.

“Now firmly established as one of Ireland’s most exciting, dynamic and successful annual attractions, Down Council’s spectacular aeronautical display over the stunning natural amphitheatre of Dundrum Bay has built considerable international kudos and is an important and imaginative contributor to our region’s fast-growing tourism economy.”

For information about all the events in the 2014 B/E Aerospace Festival of Flight visit www.downdc.gov.uk or call 028 4372 2222. To find out more about B/E Aerospace visit www.beaerospace.com

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