'Every avenue being explored' for airshow's return

"Every possible avenue" is being explored to bring back a city's annual airshow, its council says.

The event in Sunderland, which ran for decades, drew hundreds of thousands of people to the seafront at Roker.

It last took place in 2019 with subsequent displays called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic before the then Labour-led local authority stated in 2022 the show had been cancelled indefinitely as part of efforts to make the city carbon neutral.

Reform UK came to power in elections in May this year and its cabinet member for culture, tourism and heritage has confirmed efforts are under way to reinstate it.

Councillor Ciera Hudspith was responding to a public question at a council meeting earlier this week.

Hudspith described the airshow as "much-loved event", with businesses such as hotels and restaurants benefiting from the custom it generated, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said the council would do "everything in its power" to bring it back having been "absolutely astounded when Labour cancelled the airshow citing their ever-growing determination to reach net stupid zero".

"They decimated the events budget on this council leaving us with little to nothing to continue the show," she continued.

"However, let me be absolutely clear, this group promised to do everything in its power before May to see a return of the airshow and we intend to stick to that.

"We're exploring every possible avenue to ensure that this event returns and it is on the forefront of our minds every single day when we enter City Hall."

Announcing the cancellation in 2022, the then council leader Graeme Miller said residents had "identified the environment as one of their top concerns and both the council and the city have committed to tackling the global climate emergency by reducing carbon emissions".

"This makes it all the harder to justify events such as the airshow, which generate large amounts of carbon, going ahead in the future," he added.

Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen on BBC Sounds.