RAF Museum Outdoor Cinema and tours of UK Parliament to return for summer

With the lucrative school summer holidays having been earmarked by visitor attractions across the UK as a pivotal time to make hay following months of lockdowns and limited capacities, many tried and tested events are being reprised.

Over a long weekend in August the highly popular Outdoor Cinema will return to the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, showing six films on a large LED screen in the venue’s grounds.

Tickets for the event, along with food and deck chair rentals, will provide a hugely important revenue stream for the museum as it continues to try and offset the hardship imposed by the pandemic.

A selection of drinks and hot street food will be available before and during each showing, with the museum’s Hercules aircraft also having been transformed into a popcorn bar where visitors can step on-board to buy a traditional cinema snack in the least conventional setting imaginable.

“We are thrilled to see one of our big events returning to the RAF Museum this summer,” says Ulrike Stuebner, RAF Museum Cosford’s public events manager. “Families visiting us during the summer holidays can enjoy everything the museum has to offer during the day, plus a movie before they head home.”

Nothing has been left to chance in seeking the biggest audiences possible, with programming dictated by public demand.

“We ran a poll on social media and more than 1,000 people voted for their favourite films,” Stuebner explains. “An overwhelming number of comments and emails reached us requesting to add Top Gun to the programme, and how could we not, we are the perfect venue for it!

“Where else can you watch movies about flight surrounded by real military aircraft, and get the chance to climb inside an aircraft to buy your popcorn?”

Advance tickets have been priced at £14 per adult and £8 for children, with family rates available from £35 for afternoon showings and £42 for evening films. Depending on availability the museum may also make additional tickets available on the day at a higher rate.

Commons people

Having postponed public tours in order to ensure the nation’s parliamentary buildings remained Covid-secure for their primary law-making functions, this summer will see tourists welcomed back to Westminster.

Between 28^th July and 4^th September visitors can sign up for a 90-minute tour of the House of Commons, House of Lords and the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, equipped with a personal multimedia guide available in a variety of languages – English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese and Welsh.

Maintaining high safety standards on the site in which the nation’s pandemic restrictions have been set remains of paramount importance, with all aspects of the tour subject to the stringent regulations with which museums have become so accustomed.

Pre-booked tickets for tours are priced at £22 for adults, £9 for children, £19 for concessions and £17.50 per person in a group. The multimedia guide is also adapted depending on a visitor’s age, meaning it is suitable for children no matter how young.

There is currently a public consultation under way regarding the restoration of the Houses of Parliament, with submissions welcomed until 14^th July.