A SPECIAL three-day event in the city centre and at Coventry Airport will celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force.
The newly elected Lord Mayor of Coventry, councillor John Blundell, and leading UK businessman Sir Peter Rigby are to co-host the showcase on July 6-8.
It will commemorate and inspire the next generation and finish with a service of celebration at Coventry Cathedral.
Mayor Blundell said: “I am proud that Coventry is one of a handful of cities outside of London that is marking the RAF’s 100th anniversary with a weekend of events to commemorate and celebrate its contribution to our country and our city.
“Coventry has strong links with the organisation, not least the former RAF officer Sir Frank Whittle who was born in Earlsdon and went on to help create the jet engine.
“The weekend will also be personal to me as my father served in the RAF and I hope as many people as possible join in with the weekend of events to mark this special occasion.”
One of the spectacular highlights of the celebration is an inter-active RAF showcase taking place throughout the weekend.
Part of the celebration will take place in the Broadgate area of the city centre, featuring iconic aircrafts on static display.
RAF regiments and the University of Birmingham’s RAF Air Squadron will be present along with RAF STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and recruitment exhibits.
A special-edition red, white and blue RAF 100 Aston Martin, as one of more than 20 RAF 100 vehicles, manned by military personnel, will be on display.
Coventry Airport will host a nine-piece aircraft display open to the public as an extension to the Broadgate showcase.
The Lord Mayor and Sir Peter Rigby will close the event with a reception lunch for 120 dignitaries in St Mary’s Guildhall ahead of the cathedral service on Sunday, July 8.
Sir Rigby said this was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the city’s long history with the RAF and its past manufacturing plants which produced aircrafts for the service from the early 1900s to the early 1970s.
He said: “We have organised this RAF 100 celebration in Coventry to reflect the professionalism and capabilities of today’s RAF to provide a platform to discuss its current role and its important future place in serving and protecting our nation.”
