Rolls-Royce "Wings And Wheels" Event - Dover Seafront 5-6 June

One hundred Rolls-Royce cars, aerial displays by The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight including wartime Spitfires and a Lancaster, and a fireworks display all feature in a great programme of free events on Dover Seafront on 5/6 June.

The event is to mark the 100th anniversary of the first non-stop return flight of the channel by CS Rolls, co-founder of Rolls-Royce, and has been put together by Dover District Council, Dover Town Council and Dover Harbour Board, with sponsorship from Rolls-Royce plc.

Celebrations start at 10.15pm on Saturday 5 June with a Firework and Pyrotechnic Display sponsored by Dover Town Council at the Prince of Wales Pier. The remaining events are focused on the Sunday - up to 100 Rolls-Royce cars, the earliest dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, will be displayed from noon on the seafront by the South Eastern section of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club. Charles Rolls' only surviving car, an 1899 Panhard Levassor will also be on display, courtesy of Norfolk Museum Service. At around 12.30pm, a ceremony will be held at the newly renovated Charles Rolls statue, followed at around 1pm by a short air display over the harbour by a Spitfire supplied by Rolls-Royce plc and a 10 minute display by The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The solo Spitfire will then fly to Calais recreating Rolls' cross channel flight, returning at about 4.10pm for a final display over the harbour. A static vintage car display will also be in Dover Market Square.

A new display is being put on at Dover Museum from 31 May to 5 September about the Dover connections with Rolls-Royce. The Western Heights Preservation Society is also opening the Drop Redoubt Napoleonic Fort on the Western Heights all weekend 10am to 5pm, and a shuttle bus will run between the seafront, Market Square and Western Heights.

Cllr Frederick Scales, DDC Cabinet Member for Economy and Special Projects said: "This is going to be a great fun weekend for everyone with lots to see and do. We have some fantastic Rolls-Royce cars coming to celebrate the day, as well as the historic Rolls-Royce powered Spitfires and Lancaster. This has been a great piece of partnership work between DDC, Dover Town Council and Dover Harbour Board, and Rolls-Royce plc has made a generous contribution to the costs of the day."

All events are subject to weather conditions. For more information about the centenary celebrations, see the website at www.rollsroyceanniversary.com.