Farnborough Airshow 'record' attendance expected

Organisers of an air show have said they are expecting "a record number" of attendants.

The Farnborough International Airshow, which takes place every two years, runs from 20-24 July at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in Hampshire.

Venue director Sarah Marshall said more temporary structures were being put in place this year to service "increased demand from exhibitors and from the public".

Ahead of the finalising of UK's defence plan, Gareth Rogers, the venue's chief executive, added they were seeing "a real appetite for defence".

The airshow was first held in 1948 and has grown to become one of the world's main aviation industry trade events.

Marshall said the build for it started in March of an even year and an increasing number of contractors were staying locally "up to the week before when we have up to 3,000 people on site".

She added that events were hosted every year, all year round, which provided a boost to the local economy.

This year the exhibition space has increased to more than 500,000 sq m (123.5 acres) and six halls instead of five.

"The footprint of the show stays the same but we are putting up more temporary structures this year to service increased demand from exhibitors and from the public," Marshall said.

"We're expecting a record number of people to attend the show on the Friday and that is partly due to the number of aircraft that we have this year and just general interest in aviation is growing."

She added they were anticipating "a growth of around 20% in flying and static displays" for this year's edition.

The show has opened in recent years with a speech from the sitting prime minister and fly past by the Red Arrows.

The RAF display team will be absent as they tour the United States as part of the American independence celebrations.

Before his resignation on Monday, Keir Starmer was due to appear just weeks after the latest date predicted for publication of government's Defence Investment Programme.

Rogers said there was also "a new mix" of exhibitors, from space technologies to finance, artificial intelligence (AI) and new defence companies.

Rogers said that while they were seeing "a real appetite for defence and therefore those plans are clearly important", each individual company should answer on the importance on the upcoming defence plan.

"The way the world is fighting wars and defending their countries is changing and therefore as a showcase for products, naturally those companies and those countries and those individuals are wanting to showcase that product differently and it's been a real growth area for us."

Rogers said Ukrainian representatives, both from companies and government officials, would be present in the new hall.

[The country's presence] has certainly grown over the last four to six years, particularly as the industry within Ukraine has grown," he said, adding organisers "welcome them".

Rogers said 64% of the airshow exhibitors were from overseas.

"We had, I think, over 100 companies in 15 -16 countries represented from around the world at the last airshow - it's is going to increase for this year.

"Therefore, this is not just about the UK, this is about the importance of the UK in a global market."