With a history of over 180 years of aquatic competition and entertainment. The Whitby Regatta is probably the oldest sea Regatta on the northeast coast in England and has drawn large crowds into Whitby over the past years.
The costs of putting a Regatta on have increased significantly over the past 15 years, also changes in legislation to host events such as Regatta have driven up costs. For example, an average cost to fund a Regatta now is £40,000 and more than £60,000 if we have the Red Arrows Air Display. Operational costs such as providing medical cover over the Regatta weekend, Event Insurance, Entertainment and Fireworks have all increased substantially.
We do not receive any government, Lottery or council funding to support Whitby Regatta operational costs, the only funding comes from the good will 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 Whitby Regatta in future years for the local community and visitors to Whitby, we are setting up a Crowdfunder page to provide an online donation option to generate much needed funds. Sadly, the Red Arrows are out of the country for this year's event so we have decided to set a target to raise £5000 to pay for the fireworks that thousands of people enjoy watching on Regatta Monday evening. Please share with your family and friends to help us reach our target.
Thank you for supporting Whitby Regatta