Red Arrows will now perform at Eastbourne Airbourne after U-turn

The world-famous display team will appear on August 15 before going overseas for a five-week Canadian Maple Hawk tour.

Eastbourne Borough Council previously said the Red Arrows would not be at Airbourne due to overseas commitments.

Councillor Margaret Bannister, the council’s lead member for tourism, leisure, accessibility and community safety, said: “This is terrific news – we are thrilled to welcome the team back for what will be our pearl anniversary.

The Red Arrows performed at three of the event's four days last year (Image: PA)

“Our heartfelt thanks go to the sensational Red Arrows for all their time and effort in setting up this milestone moment, especially as it is just before they embark on their overseas tour.

“We can’t wait to celebrate their incredible 60 years, in addition to our own 30th anniversary, and we look forward to sharing more flying news over the coming weeks.”

The Red Arrows will only perform on the Thursday, August 15. The group has performed on all four days of the event in previous years.

The other confirmed displays are the RAF Typhoon which is Friday to Sunday, RAF Grob Tutor display which is Friday to Sunday, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which includes a Hurricane, Lancaster and Spitfire on all of the days. Two fighters will join on Saturday and Sunday to create a five-plane display.

More announcements will be made nearer the event.

The Red Arrows were forced to cancel one of their displays last year due to a technical issue.

Eastbourne Airbourne started in 1993 with the Red Arrows topping the bill. It has since grown into one of the largest free events in the South East.

This year’s show will be the 30th anniversary due to the event not running in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.

Grandstand seating, VIP hospitality and viewing enclosures will be on sale next month. 

Souvenir programmes will also be available to pre-order. They include all the flying times of the event.