Bring Back The Royal Tournament

[Arthurgray50@blu]

In view of the recent events, involving the RAF, and also our brave lads and lasses in fighting for the country, l thought, what a brilliant idea would be, for us to show our respect for the services, bring back The Royal Tournament, which was always held at Earls Court, London, and all the revenue would go to there charities, to show how much we care about them, when l was a kid, l always went there, and it was always packed, brilliant night out, and what a way to say thank you.

[TheNorm]

Wasn't it Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence (Labour) who cancelled it after 100-odd years?

Anyway, I have fond memories of seeing this in Earl's Court as a lad, courtesy of my uncle.

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by TheNorm

Wasn't it Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence (Labour) who cancelled it after 100-odd years?

Anyway, I have fond memories of seeing this in Earl's Court as a lad, courtesy of my uncle.

Yes, the last one was in 1999.

From Hansard:

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what grounds the Royal Tournament is to be ended; and if he will make a statement. [94144]

Mr. Hoon: The Royal Tournament has made a major contribution over the years to British life and to the Service charities. I therefore pay tribute to the organisers and participants who have given such great pleasure to so many.
The Royal Tournament had been under scrutiny for some time. In part this was because the event had lost money in recent years--for example, it lost £400,000 last year--and this made the viability of the event questionable, particularly given its charitable status. More fundamentally, however, the format of the event could send only a limited message about the role and operational capabilities of the Armed Forces in the modern world. Moreover, the audience had reduced in recent years and as a result the Tournament neither informed the public nor attracted potential recruits to the extent we would have wished. Despite failing to meet our needs, it still placed a very considerable demand on our personnel, a minimum of 30,000 man-days per annum. This was hard to justify in the light of operational commitments and overstretch. Such considerations led the Services themselves to conclude that the Royal Tournament should end in order to help reduce commitments.

Link

[Chorlton]

I agree, bring it back. It was a great spectacle!

[Tezcatlipoca]

My Dad used to take my brother & I to this when we were kids

[Womble]

Originally Posted by Chorlton

I agree, bring it back. It was a great spectacle!

Here here

A good way to "big up" our armed services to

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Womble

Here here

A good way to "big up" our armed services to

The evidence suggests it wasn't.

[Jules]

I use to love watching it on the tele every year.

[Mr_love_monkey]

At the risk of being unpopular, what's the point of bringing it back? - if it was losing £400k in 1999, it because people weren't going to see it - to bring it back, and waste what would probably be more money these days just seems pointless.
I'm all for paying homage to the guys and gals who go out and do the things I wouldn't want to do, but surely there's a better way to do this than to bring back a show that the majority of people didn't want to see in the first place?

[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

At the risk of being unpopular, what's the point of bringing it back? - if it was losing £400k in 1999, it because people weren't going to see it - to bring it back, and waste what would probably be more money these days just seems pointless.
I'm all for paying homage to the guys and gals who go out and do the things I wouldn't want to do, but surely there's a better way to do this than to bring back a show that the majority of people didn't want to see in the first place?

Exactly, like using the money which would have been spent on it, on making service accomodation decent for starters.

[Roysigs]

Last weekend I went to Birmingham to see the military Tattoo, the first time I have seen one since the tourney. I was sadly disappointed. The Band of the Coldstream Guards, the Band of the Brigade of Ghurkhas, were the only 2 British Bands, a Drill Display by the RAF junior training school. They were excellent.
The rest was made up of The American army band Europe. I thought they were rubbish. The Kazistan Army band I thought they were good. There was also a sort of a field gun competition but without any obstacles it didn't work for me. A junior band, A PT display from a senior school in Essex, A disco dance display by some juniors a Flyball display. How may people understand Flyball? What the last 4 had to do with military is beyond me
That makes me say even more bring back the Royal Tournament.

[Minbu]

Gets my vote - bring it back! So it cost £400,000 a year to stage. How much has Buff Hoon claimed in expenses in the last ten years and how much did the government recently hand over to bail out the banks?

I agree it should be bought back, £400,000 is nothing compared to the payments the MP's have creamed off over the years.

[Down the Pub]

only went once, but seeing the gun race live was a hell of an experience as a kid - it was the one thing i really wanted to watch when it was on.



bloddy nutters the lot of 'em

Originally Posted by Cobbydaler

From Hansard:

Odd - I dont recall ever asking that question.