Whitby Regatta launches £5,000 Crowdfunder for fireworks as event hit by soaring costs
A Crowdfunder has been launched to help pay for this year’s fireworks finale at Whitby Regatta.
The regatta – which this year runs from August 17 to 19 – is aiming to raise the funds as part of a July challenge to keep the carnival at land and sea going for future generations.
But the problem is that in a world of contactless payments, donations via coinage are dwindling – and costs of hosting the town’s premier event are rising rapidly.
A post on Whitby Regatta’s Facebook page reads: “Please donate to the Whitby Regatta Crowdfunding page if you can, lets see if we can get 1,000 people to donate £5 in July, less than a pint or two coffees, which will get us very near to our fireworks target.”
Whitby Regatta is one of the oldest sea regattas on the north east coast but costs have risen significantly over the past 15 years, while changes to legislation to host the event has also seen costs soar.
An average cost to fund regatta is now £40,000 – or more than £60,000 with the Red Arrows air display included.
The Crowdfunder states: “We do not receive any government, lottery or council funding to support Whitby Regatta operational costs, the only funding comes from the goodwill of local people and sponsorship.
"We know that visitors to Whitby and the local community really enjoy regatta weekend and often ask how to donate to regatta funds, as the days of people carrying change in their pockets have almost gone, we live in a contactless payment world now.
"To ensure we can continue to provide the famous regatta in future years for the local community and visitors to Whitby, we have set up a Crowdfunder page to provide an online donation option to generate much-needed funds.”
Although the Red Arrows are unavailable for this year’s regatta, the committee has decided to set a £5,000 target to pay for the fireworks that thousands of people enjoy on the closing night of the event.
Click here if you’d like to donate.
The campaign is running until 6pm on July 26.
The regatta is also on the lookout for volunteers and a secretary.
Contact Mike Nightingale on 07970 614035 if you can help.