Everything you need to know about the quirky event
Ilfracombe Birdman 2022 – Team Pall (Credit : Simon Ellery)
Ten teams of daredevil flying aces will aim to soar across Bristol’s Floating Harbour this weekend, as the first-ever Bristol Birdman competition takes place.
The truth is, however, that they are likely run off a launch ramp and plummet ungracefully into the murky depths, because of gravity, but a large crowd is expected to line both sides of the Floating Harbour to watch the spectacle on Sunday morning.
Birdman events are popular around the world, and perhaps the most famous in the UK is the one in Bognor Regis in Sussex, where thousands gather to watch the ‘flights’ off the end of the town’s pier.
The Bristol event kicks off at 10am on Sunday morning and for the next two hours, a steady stream of foolhardy teams will try to impress the judges with their outfits, the look of their flying machines, their introduction routines and the distance they manage to successfully glide, to win prizes galore, and all in aid of a good cause.
The Birdman is being organised by youth charity Grassroot Communities. Its founder Ben Carpenter said: “With its creative culture and extensive maritime and aviation histories, Bristol is the ideal city to embrace the ethos of Birdman.
“The first objective is for everyone to have lots of fun – what isn’t fun about jumping off a pontoon dressed as an eagle?”
In the run-up to the first-ever Bristol Birdman, we’ve pulled together a guide to everything we know about the event:
When is the Bristol Birdman?
The first-ever Bristol Birdman is taking place on the morning of Sunday, June 15. The event starts at 10am and is expected to run for two hours until midday.
Where is the event taking place?
A launch ramp pontoon is being set up on Baltic Wharf, on the stretch of the harbourside between Bristol Marina and The Cottage Inn and the caravan park. But there’ll be good viewing points around that part of the Floating Harbour, particularly on Mardyke on the opposite side of the water.
Who is organising the event?
The event is being organised by Grassroot Communities, a community-based organisation that is creating sustainable change in everyday communities in Bristol through dedicated youth and community work.
Originally based in South Bristol, the organisation has a track record of helping children and young people step into leadership roles, and its ‘GAP’ programme has helped young adults across some of Bristol’s more deprived communities find opportunities to transform their lives. Any profits from the Birdman event will go directly to that work.
How will the Birdman event work?
It’s mainly just a ridiculous bit of fun, but there is a competition element to it, and some people take it quite seriously. There will be up to 12 teams competing and the aim is to create a home-made machine, with costumes, that, when pushed off the end of a pontoon sticking out into the Floating Harbour, travels the furthest before it hits the water below.
The contraptions can only be made from recycled materials that can then be fished out of the water and reused.
As well as the prize for who glides the furthest, there will also be prizes awarded for style, the costumes, the contraptions themselves and the little show the teams put on up on the pontoon before lift-off.
Who’s involved?
DJ and MC Ian ‘Downsy’ Downs is compering and commentating on the event on the morning, and a number of teams have already signed up.
All Aboard Watersports, which is based nearby, are the event’s main sponsors, and local firms including Amdaris, Arup, theatrical company Bakehouse, Brightpearl, financial firm CPA, Puppet Place, Old Market restaurant Tomo No Ramen and Grassroot Communities itself, are among the companies and organisations who have entered teams.
Pre-event favourites, at least for the style prizes, are the creative companies involved – with Bakehouse and Puppet Place well placed to score highly with the judges.
Each entrant has a fundraising section on the GoodHub website.
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