According to the article below the Thunderbirds will be heading to Europe in summer 2011 for a couple of shows. Rumour has it Leeuwarden will invite them for a special show in June, because the open days are in september. Can anyone confirm the rumour?
Thunderbirds fly away from OC’s annual air show
Flight team skips Ocean City for European tour
The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will not be returning to Ocean City for the 2011 OC Air Show next June because the team will be on tour in Europe. Organizers are searching for another demonstration team to headline the show.
The Thunderbirds, the stars of the OC Air Show for the past two years, will be difficult to replace, since neither of the other two well-known military flight teams are available for that date. Air Show organizer Bryan Lilley reported the bad news to the Ocean City Council on Tuesday.
The Thunderbirds are leaving for a European tour before the Ocean City show in June, the United States Navy Blue Angels have already set their 2011 schedule and the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds only participate in shows in the United States until the middle of May.
Lilley is pursuing smaller demon- strations teams to headline the Ocean City show instead and asked the council to set firm dates for the 2011 event.
The weekends of June 4-5 and 11-12 are under consideration for the fourth annual show next year. Lilley said the second weekend would offer the best opportunity to get one or both of the teams he is courting on to participate. The F-22 Raptor team and a Harrier demonstration team are possible anchor performers and Lilley said the June 11-12 dates would make it more likely they would participate.
“But we won’t know their firm schedules until January,” he said.
Another reason for Lilley’s request of that weekend date was the recruiting opportunities for the military. Strong recruiting is one of the main reasons why the military branches continue to attend air shows, he said, and the opportunities are much stronger in the middle of June when the resort is full of high school graduates. “One of the reasons we’ve gained so much stature so quickly is not only because of the family atmosphere, but also because of the sheer number of high school grads in town,” Lilley said. “Recruiting is the primary goal of these demo teams.”
Holding the show during the first weekend of June will reduce the recruiting opportunities, Lilley said, and that could affect the military attendance at future air shows.
There were more people in town during the air show weekend in 2009, when it was the second weekend of the month, than in 2010 when it was the first weekend. Revenues were also lower from the 2010 show, Lilley said in support of his recommended dates for 2011.
But Councilman Joe Hall said the second weekend of June is already a busy one for the resort, adding that businesses might be better served by having the air show during the first weekend to boost the number of visitors on that quieter weekend.
“We’re doing this to try to grow a weekend, to bring more new people here instead of entertaining the people who are already here,” Hall said.
He instructed Lilley to meet with the new tourism advisory group made of up local business leaders to figure out exactly what dates would have the most positive effect on tourism for the town.
Only Councilwoman Mary Knight opposed that motion, saying that Lilley is an expert on air shows and the council should follow his recommendation.
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