NW200 organisers 'keen to work with Council' over VE Day commemorations' clash with race day

Representatives of the North West 200 have outlined a number of possible initiatives to celebrate VE Day during race day.

During a Commemoration and Celebration Subcommittee Meeting last December, members pointed out that council’s planned programme for the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, which includes plans for a range of activities throughout the borough, will clash with North West 200’s race day.

At this month’s subcommittee meeting meeting, North West 200 event director, Mervyn Whyte, said he had been discussing the issue with council’s chief executive, David Jackson, since last October and he was “very, very keen to be part of the celebration”.

He outlined a number of events that could take place before racing begins.

“We want to work with council to celebrate [VE Day], we have a club which is very much the same, and we have a sponsor who feels exactly the same way about it,” he said.

“I would like to think that we would be into racing by 5.30pm on Thursday [May 8] and I thought we could have the National Anthem play, prior to the start of the first race.

“I would also be keen to bring all of our officials, competitors, and team personnel to the front of the grid, and we would have a minute’s silence.

“The exact timing of that I just couldn’t say, because it just depends on how things go. We would close the road at 4.45pm and that could take a bit of time, but we will certainly do it as quickly as we can.

“But our thinking was that we would bring everybody to the front row group prior to playing the National Anthem, a minute’s silence, and then we would kick off in the race.

“We could also maybe have a flypast at 5.15pm, before the start of the race, if there was the opportunity for a plane to back and forward across the road in front of the actual start area, but that’s in the hands of the council.

“We have a number of military vehicles and we have personnel from the club who run a public military event year-on-year on year. Those military vehicles are all available, if we wanted to put on a show somewhere on the Coast Road.”