Aviation fans, like me, are devastated by the shock cancellation of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, scheduled for 15 to 17 August 2025. The event has been called off due to ongoing beach erosion challenges along Surfers Paradise Beach following Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The show relies heavily on the large beaches for crowd seating but recurring king tides with accompanying large swells have hampered repair efforts.
Image Matrix Tech was there last year to test the Canon R5 MII and we were planning to return this year with even more photographic gear to test.
“Our team is devastated to be forced to cancel Pacific Airshow Gold Coast 2025, but it’s the right thing to do for everyone and the long-term restoration of the beach,” said Code Four CEO and Airshow Director, Kevin Elliott.
“The Pacific Airshow team are Gold Coast based and are committed to delivering an extraordinary experience. People come to be entertained, have the ultimate party on the beach, see amazing aircraft and spend time with family and friends, all with their feet in the sand. Big surf, high tides and unusually persistent rainfall since the cyclone have created a perfect storm of events that has been detrimental to recovery efforts.
“It’s been one step forward, two steps back with beach sand replenishment, even though the City of Gold Coast has been putting all its efforts into returning the beach to its picture-perfect best with ships, trucks, pumps and the lot. Our extensive modelling shows that in light of the recent erosion caused by the king tides and massive swell, the sand just won’t be there for a safe spectator experience at the scale Pacific Airshow requires.”
KEY POINTS
- Since Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred earlier this year, the Gold Coast has lost over 4 million cubic metres of sand – the equivalent of 320,000 semi-trailer loads – causing significant erosion across the coastline, including Surfers Paradise beach.
- The beach level has dropped by approximately 2 metres, resulting in ocean encroachment, creating sand cliffs as high as 6 metres in some locations.
- Areas outside our fenced precinct – which have historically been high-density viewing zones – remain unstable, eroded and in some cases closed to public access presenting significant public safety risk.
- The City of Gold Coast is continuing to undertake beach nourishment works to minimise the impact of further beach erosion and loss of sand.
- Restoration efforts to Surfers Paradise, the main precinct for the event, have been hampered by big swells, king tides and challenging weather conditions.
Organisers did their best to keep the show on the calendar.
“After looking at every option – changing dates, moving to another spot on the Gold Coast – we couldn’t find a way to keep our community safe without compromising the show either in the air or on the ground, and neither of those were acceptable outcomes for us,” Elliott explained.
“In light of all available information and after reviewing the recent state of Surfers Paradise Beach, making the decision to cancel this year’s event timely and decisively is the responsible path. The number of tickets sold during the pre-sale this year more than doubled the numbers sold for 2024, so we’re extremely grateful to our PA family and hope they will stick with us through this setback. We’re happy to reveal we will be back next year Bigger, Faster & Louder from 14 to 16 August 2026.”
