The Bognor Birdman Rally
Flying machines, fancy dress and the famous pier jump
The Bognor Birdman Rally is one of the most distinctive events in the English seaside calendar and has been drawing crowds to the Bognor seafront since 1971. The concept is simple: competitors launch themselves from the end of the pier in home-made flying machines, attempting to fly as far as possible before the inevitable meeting with the sea. The reality is a glorious spectacle of engineering ambition, fancy dress, comedy and the universal human desire to fly, even if the flight ends approximately three seconds after launch.
The event began as the International Birdman Rally and has been held in various locations over the years, though Bognor Regis has been its primary home and the venue most closely associated with it. The pier provides the launch platform, and the sea below receives the competitors with democratic impartiality, whether they have spent months building a sophisticated glider or five minutes strapping cardboard wings to a shopping trolley.
The competition divides broadly into two categories. The serious entrants build genuine flying machines, including hang gliders, human-powered aircraft and other designs intended to achieve real flight. These competitors can achieve impressive distances, and the prize money for the longest flight provides a financial incentive alongside the glory. The engineering and commitment involved in the best entries is genuinely impressive, and watching a well-designed glider soar smoothly off the pier and glide for tens of metres is a thrilling sight.
The other category, which provides most of the entertainment, is the fancy dress and comedy entries. These competitors have no realistic intention of flying and every intention of entertaining the crowd. The costumes, the props, the theatrical launches and the spectacular crashes into the water are what most spectators come to see. A man dressed as a giant chicken launching himself off the end of the pier and plummeting vertically into the Channel is comedy of the purest kind, and it never gets old no matter how many times you see variations on the theme.
The event draws thousands of spectators to the seafront, lining the promenade and the beach to watch the launches. The atmosphere is festive and good-natured, with food stalls, a commentary over the loudspeakers and the shared anticipation of each launch. Children are particularly enthralled, and the Birdman has created memories for generations of families who have stood on the beach watching the flying and the falling.
The Birdman Rally has had interruptions over the years, including periods when the event moved to other locations and years when it was not held at all. The condition of the pier, weather, funding and organisational challenges have all affected the event's continuity. But the Birdman keeps coming back, because the idea is too good and too entertaining to abandon permanently.
The event has become part of Bognor's identity, one of the things that people across the country associate with the town. It features in media coverage, social media and the general consciousness as an example of British eccentricity at its most endearing. For Bognor, the Birdman provides national exposure, a boost to the local economy on event day and a reminder that the town has a sense of fun that belies its sometimes quiet exterior.
The next Birdman event will be announced through the official channels and the local press. For anyone who has not experienced it, the recommendation is simple: go. Stand on the beach, watch the flying machines, laugh at the falls and celebrate the wonderful absurdity of people throwing themselves off a pier in pursuit of flight.