Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - Cancelled

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AndyJ
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by AndyJ »

As someone who enjoys camping out on the fence for the display, I'm not convinced that control of social distancing will be sufficient, despite the stated precautions being taken at the Show. There seems to be an underlying mindset of self-policing in operation even though extra stewarding will be in place. In the past (in happier pre-Covid days), I've bagged my spot very early on in the day but as we got closer to the start of the display, a small minority of late-comers would be trying to squeeze in, almost to the point of sharing my chair! Of course, I told them I was unhappy with the situation and got them to move, but I think it'll be a lot harder to preserve appropriate social distancing this time round. At the two drive-in Old Warden airshows, the whole experience relaxing and we were treated to some wonderful displays. The vast majority of spectators adhered strictly to the rules and stayed in their designated space. I have a gut feeling that Duxford is going to be a more ad hoc experience and less relaxing. This, added to the growing incidences of Covid-19, makes it increasingly less likely that I shall be attending.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by keithjs »

rockfordstone wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 9:10 am
Pat Murphy wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 8:56 am
Two days running, new Covid infections at around 3000 per day. Wondering if anyone is reconsidering going?
I am having to take a long hard look at this, as I have a busy week with Guests following on from the Tuesday after...
I read this morning that the government are contemplating reducing weddings and funeral gatherings etc down to as little as 6 people again because of the sharp rise so will be interesting to see what knock on effect that has
Unfortunately I can honestly see this show being cancelled in the next few days :mask:
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Aquarious
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Aquarious »

I travelled on the underground and by bus today for the first time in six months to attend a medical appointment and TBH it nearly frightened the life out of me. The majority of people behave well but about 15% of people were either not wearing a face mask at all or took it off once on board. Those that were relaxed about wearing face masks were also relaxed about social distancing. They showed little or no consideration for people around them by brushing past. I don't envisage returning to the daily tube commute back to work anytime in the next six months or more. Knowing how some people have behaved at airshows in the past, I too have held off buying tickets until I have more visibility of the planned measures and confidence in how crowds will behave.

I'm not convinced yet that the show will be cancelled as the Government will not want to be seen to be taking a backwards step as they are all about encouraging people to stimulate the economy at the moment. Nothing I have seen from IWM Duxford to date gives me any confidence that there will be adequate measures (for me at least) in place. This is all being exacerbated by the increase in reported COVID-19 cases and the reintroduction of lockdown measures in certain areas.

Some have suggested on here that we are all responsible for taking our own precautions which I fully agree with. However, I compare it to driving. You can be the safest driver in the world but all it takes is one other idiot to ruin your day.

Even a busy day at OW is more relaxed in my view than Duxford BoB show will be with reduced numbers. I don't have an issue with crowds per se, but I would like to be able to feel safe in my own space. I'm with Andyj on this, I think a small number of people will lack any consideration for others and I think that I have reluctantly all but decided not to attend. For the sake of people that have bought tickets and still intend going, I hope that I am wrong, but for me, I'm not willing to take that chance.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by SEMAE »

Apparently the number of infections in Cambridge is now 11.2, down from 16.8 per 100,000 of population. I do not know if this is representative of the rest of the area but considering some people will be travelling from further away from higher risk areas, under the current general trend in coronavirus figures I am also in some doubt that it will end up going ahead with current approval being overturned.

Still it is only just under two weeks away so we could still have a show but beyond that, other events may be in even greater doubt.

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jasonT1981
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by jasonT1981 »

I'm coming up from London on the Friday. To avoid using the tube for long periods of time (over an hour from Heathrow to Liverpool Street) I am paying a bit extra to use the Heathrow express and its only a few stops from Paddington to Liverpool Street and then Stansted Express.

I have to admit the tube journey has been weighing on my mind as the biggest risk. Worst case I'll take a bus from Paddington to Liverpool Street.

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rdchawk
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

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Serious doubts this will go ahead now as gatherings of more than 6 to be banned from Monday.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Flare Path »

Can't see it happening myself now, either - no surprise, unfortunately.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by keithjs »

rdchawk wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 9:39 pm
Serious doubts this will go ahead now as gatherings of more than 6 to be banned from Monday.
Yep, it'll be cancelled any time from now I would imagine..... :mask:
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rockfordstone
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by rockfordstone »

rdchawk wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 9:39 pm
Serious doubts this will go ahead now as gatherings of more than 6 to be banned from Monday.
I mean they haven't changed the rules on weddings and such, just that you can't meet on groups of 6 or more.

You could argue it's no different to going to the park but it would mean breaking groups up.

Whether the social distancing champions have that level of authority remains to be seen

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

rockfordstone wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 7:52 am
rdchawk wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 9:39 pm
Serious doubts this will go ahead now as gatherings of more than 6 to be banned from Monday.
I mean they haven't changed the rules on weddings and such, just that you can't meet on groups of 6 or more.

You could argue it's no different to going to the park but it would mean breaking groups up.

Whether the social distancing champions have that level of authority remains to be seen
Yes this. The change, it seems, is just a reduction in the size of an un-distanced group from 30 to 6. So, distance between every family/bubble group of six, distance from people you don't know socialise with. So probably exactly as Duxford was intended to be in the first place. It doesn't mean any events are banned or businesses closed, rather that distancing is enforced. Although typically, the government put out half a story last night to leave everyone assuming and wondering. No doubt it will become clear.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by BobL »

rockfordstone wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 7:52 am

I mean they haven't changed the rules on weddings and such, just that you can't meet on groups of 6 or more.

Could always change the title of the event from "Airshow" to "Wedding"?....
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rdchawk
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by rdchawk »

Wrexham Mackem wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 8:16 am
rockfordstone wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 7:52 am
rdchawk wrote:
Tue 08 Sep 2020, 9:39 pm
Serious doubts this will go ahead now as gatherings of more than 6 to be banned from Monday.
I mean they haven't changed the rules on weddings and such, just that you can't meet on groups of 6 or more.

You could argue it's no different to going to the park but it would mean breaking groups up.

Whether the social distancing champions have that level of authority remains to be seen
Yes this. The change, it seems, is just a reduction in the size of an un-distanced group from 30 to 6. So, distance between every family/bubble group of six, distance from people you don't know socialise with. So probably exactly as Duxford was intended to be in the first place. It doesn't mean any events are banned or businesses closed, rather that distancing is enforced. Although typically, the government put out half a story last night to leave everyone assuming and wondering. No doubt it will become clear.
And how exactly can you manage this at site like Duxford??

Numbers would need to be reduced to maintain the distancing so i would expect a hold on ticket sales for the moment so Duxford could gauge ticket sales already
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by keithjs »

My biggest concern is the possible backlash Duxford and IWM will get from the press and the public when 100's of people fall ill because they attended one of those dangerous airshows when they were told not to....Lets face it we get enough bad press as it is, do we really need anymore....
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Pen Pusher »

From BBC Web
As the government tightens restrictions on social gatherings in England form Monday, more than 2,500 spectators are expected at Doncaster racecourse later.

The crowd at the first day of the four-day St Leger meeting will be the first at a British horse racing fixture in six months.

Racing has been held behind closed doors since resuming on 1 June after a 10-week suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to 3,640 people will be permitted entry on Wednesday, and the racecourse says more than 2,500 tickets have been sold. A limit of 6,202 is planned on the other days, including Saturday, when the Leger, the world's oldest Classic race, is staged.

Asked about the pilot on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The prime minister is going to set out more details of the consequences of the new rule for six people gathering later today. And we'll set out what that means for some of these events that we were planning to do."

But Doncaster's elected Labour mayor Ros Jones said the festival was a "major risk for the borough that I would rather not see happen".

"I believe the risk is too great as we are seeing rising infection rates," Ms Jones said.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by duxfordhawk »

Pen Pusher wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 9:34 am
From BBC Web
As the government tightens restrictions on social gatherings in England form Monday, more than 2,500 spectators are expected at Doncaster racecourse later.

The crowd at the first day of the four-day St Leger meeting will be the first at a British horse racing fixture in six months.

Racing has been held behind closed doors since resuming on 1 June after a 10-week suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to 3,640 people will be permitted entry on Wednesday, and the racecourse says more than 2,500 tickets have been sold. A limit of 6,202 is planned on the other days, including Saturday, when the Leger, the world's oldest Classic race, is staged.

Asked about the pilot on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The prime minister is going to set out more details of the consequences of the new rule for six people gathering later today. And we'll set out what that means for some of these events that we were planning to do."

But Doncaster's elected Labour mayor Ros Jones said the festival was a "major risk for the borough that I would rather not see happen".

"I believe the risk is too great as we are seeing rising infection rates," Ms Jones said.
Do we know how many tickets Duxford has sold for Saturday and for Sunday at the moment? I am guessing each day is far more than 3,640.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Mooshie1956 »

Hoping someone can answer this. As I live in Manchester and we are under local lockdown rules would I be able to go, and or would the IWM even sell me a ticket. No I have no intention of going, I took that decision way back that I wouldn't attend any shows this year. It's just that I'm curious to how the law/rules apply here.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Mooshie1956 »

Pen Pusher wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 9:34 am
From BBC Web
As the government tightens restrictions on social gatherings in England form Monday, more than 2,500 spectators are expected at Doncaster racecourse later.

The crowd at the first day of the four-day St Leger meeting will be the first at a British horse racing fixture in six months.

Racing has been held behind closed doors since resuming on 1 June after a 10-week suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to 3,640 people will be permitted entry on Wednesday, and the racecourse says more than 2,500 tickets have been sold. A limit of 6,202 is planned on the other days, including Saturday, when the Leger, the world's oldest Classic race, is staged.

Asked about the pilot on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The prime minister is going to set out more details of the consequences of the new rule for six people gathering later today. And we'll set out what that means for some of these events that we were planning to do."

But Doncaster's elected Labour mayor Ros Jones said the festival was a "major risk for the borough that I would rather not see happen".

"I believe the risk is too great as we are seeing rising infection rates," Ms Jones said.
That's now changed as Doncaster Council have closed the race course from Thursday onwards to spectators.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Aquarious »

Its a good question. However, I would have thought that if you are in a local lockdown you are not allowed to leave the area. I wouldn't expect there to be an obligation on the IWM to check whether any or all individuals are legally allowed to attend. There are lots of uncertainties as to how the law applies or should be applied. Another example would be, if an individual lives in England and travels to Greece through Cardiff, will they have to self isolate for fourteen days when they return? The answer seems to be yes, they will need to follow the rules as if they lived Wales.

I've just seen the same news that Doncaster Racecourse has been told to go behind closed doors and stop people attending the St. Leger meeting after today's opening day.

I suspect that whether or not any of us can attend any event will become a moot point after today for the foreseeable future.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by keithjs »

Aquarious wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 12:52 pm
Its a good question. However, I would have thought that if you are in a local lockdown you are not allowed to leave the area. I wouldn't expect there to be an obligation on the IWM to check whether any or all individuals are legally allowed to attend. There are lots of uncertainties as to how the law applies or should be applied. Another example would be, if an individual lives in England and travels to Greece through Cardiff, will they have to self isolate for fourteen days when they return? The answer seems to be yes, they will need to follow the rules as if they lived Wales.

I've just seen the same news that Doncaster Racecourse has been told to go behind closed doors and stop people attending the St. Leger meeting after today's opening day.

I suspect that whether or not any of us can attend any event will become a moot point after today for the foreseeable future.
So what about all those poor people that are there today then that are going to be infecting each other? Surely they should have cancelled todays meeting too as the same infection rates will still apply whatever the day of the week surely?
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by BobL »

duxfordhawk wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 11:11 am

Do we know how many tickets Duxford has sold for Saturday and for Sunday at the moment? I am guessing each day is far more than 3,640.

Posted by rutley on Fri 14 Aug 2020, 11:56 am "Over 14,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday 19th September. The maximum limit is 15,000 per day."
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by keithjs »

BobL wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 1:33 pm
duxfordhawk wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 11:11 am

Do we know how many tickets Duxford has sold for Saturday and for Sunday at the moment? I am guessing each day is far more than 3,640.

Posted by rutley on Fri 14 Aug 2020, 11:56 am "Over 14,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday 19th September. The maximum limit is 15,000 per day."
Thats a helluva lot of refunds to get through.....
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by jasonT1981 »

I've probably been the most optimistic person on this thread, possibly to much of your annoyances lol but I am resigned to the fact it is going to get scrapped too. I might be wrong and they get away with going ahead under charitable/educational but I don't think so.

I had thought I would still travel if it was cancelled, but if it is I probably will just take the loss on the flights and hotels. Those are non refundable but I expected some loss of money on travel etc this year though most have been brilliant.

Duxford put out a statement anyway. They are expecting it to go ahead but working with authorities.
Dear all,

We appreciate that many of you have expressed concerns following the latest government advice on social gatherings. Please be assured that we are in communication with the relevant authorities to understand how the latest announcement will impact the Duxford Battle of Britain Proms and the Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show.

Our expectation at present is that these are able to go ahead but as soon as we have all the information we will update you via our social media channels and website so we ask that you continue to check these so you can keep up to date with the latest news.

We would like to thank you for your continued support during this unpredictable time

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Pen Pusher »

Pen Pusher wrote:
Wed 09 Sep 2020, 9:34 am
From BBC Web
As the government tightens restrictions on social gatherings in England form Monday, more than 2,500 spectators are expected at Doncaster racecourse later.

The crowd at the first day of the four-day St Leger meeting will be the first at a British horse racing fixture in six months.

Racing has been held behind closed doors since resuming on 1 June after a 10-week suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Up to 3,640 people will be permitted entry on Wednesday, and the racecourse says more than 2,500 tickets have been sold. A limit of 6,202 is planned on the other days, including Saturday, when the Leger, the world's oldest Classic race, is staged.

Asked about the pilot on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The prime minister is going to set out more details of the consequences of the new rule for six people gathering later today. And we'll set out what that means for some of these events that we were planning to do."

But Doncaster's elected Labour mayor Ros Jones said the festival was a "major risk for the borough that I would rather not see happen".

"I believe the risk is too great as we are seeing rising infection rates," Ms Jones said.
Further to my above post
Doncaster Racecourse has been told by local health officials to stop spectators attending its St Leger meeting after Wednesday's opening day.

"On the grounds of public health and public safety I have instructed the course to hold the St Leger Festival behind closed doors from tomorrow," said Dr Rupert Suckling, director of Public Health for Doncaster.

More than 2,500 spectators are expected at Doncaster on Wednesday as the Leger meeting starts amid uncertainty over new government rules.
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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by Flare Path »

It's off. Boris said no events until the beginning of October.

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Re: Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - 18th-20th September.

Post by jasonT1981 »

Just heard that too. Pushing back testing of large crowds. Looks like it will be, but will wait for conformation from Duxford. Going by Boris' past announcements they end up contradicting themselves.

A lot of what he announced Duxford have in place like Track and Trace and social distancing enforcement officers.

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