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Thanks To Our 2024 Sponsors

Littlehampton Bonfire Society wishes to thank our 2024 programme sponsors. We really appreciate your support! Our sponsors play a very important part in helping this event.

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Urgent Appeal

Littlehampton Bonfire Society has suffered a devastating blow as Littlehampton Town Council has pulled its funding for the event which attracts tens of thousands of people and benefits many local businesses.

This means that the Society has a shortfall that it needs to recoup in order for the much-loved event to be saved.

Please show your support. You can help in several ways.

DONATING

Donating money, or even goods and services can help us.

CONTACT THE COUNCIL

Applying pressure to the council can let them know how much the event is loved, and what it brings to the town.

  • www.littlehampton-tc.gov.uk/formal-complaints

OTHER SUPPORT

If you believe you can help us in other ways, please do get in touch. Thank you.

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2024 Sponsors

We’re seeking sponsors for this year’s event. Do you have a business and would like to gain some exposure? The event is attended by around 25,000 people. Our website receives well over 10,000 unique visitors in October alone.*

We have a number of sponsorship packages available to help promote your business to tens of thousands of people.

If you’d like to support us, please contact us.

*October 2021 – 12,216 unique visitors and 31, 974 page views.

*October 2022 – 13,113 unique visitors and 42,106 page views.

*October 2024 – 11,732 unique visitors and 29,829 page views.

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Committee Nominations 2024

Here are the nominations for the committee this year.

Mick Rowbothom

1978 – Float driver for many years
2000 – Collector / Road Closures
2001 – Torch Marshal / Bonfire Building / Guarding
2002 – Banner Carrier
2005 – Torch Making / Building / Guarding / Erecting of safety barriers etc.
2018 – Captain Of Torches On Going To Present Date
Have been an active member for many years.

Jeffrey Driver

Sue Baker

Sarah Roberts

Barry Bastable

Tyndall Jones

Glenn Donaldson

Lyn Baker

Tanya Humphrey

Will Humphrey

Michael Flynn

Joan Newman

George Pewsey

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Win a GIANT Sweets Cracker! (Christmas 2023)

Here’s your chance to win a GIANT SWEETS CRACKER in time for Christmas, kindly donated by Bah-Humbug Sweets Limited. Almost 2.5kgs of treats!

RAFFLES TICKETS ARE JUST £1 PER STRIP AND AVAILABLE FROM:

  • The LBS Pop-Up Shop (11 High Street, BN17 5EG)
  • The New Inn, Littlehampton (5 Norfolk Road, BN17 5PL)

One strip of tickets gives you five chances to win! RRP almost £60.

The draw is taking place on the 19th of December, so don’t delay!

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LITTLEHAMPTON BONFIRE EVENT IN REAL DANGER OF ENDING FOREVER!

This October the Littlehampton Bonfire Society had to cancel our traditional torchlight parade, bonfire and fireworks event due to adverse weather conditions, and flooding in the area. The fire service naturally had to attend to these emergencies and could not guarantee the society the support we required to run a safe event. This cancellation caused a massive financial loss to the Society that we are genuinely unsure we will be able to survive. The society were running at 100% of cost before cancellation. We make no secret of the fact that our event is expensive. Costs rise annually and were to have been approx £31,000 this year. A full event would therefore cost roughly £33,000 in 2024. In cancelling the event we did not recoup all of the money back. We estimate that even cancelling the event will cost roughly £15,000.

This will significantly reduce our company savings and puts into jeopardy the entire future of the event. LBS’s annual bonfire event, is extremely popular and brings people from far and wide to join the celebration.

It is a local tradition with a 71 year history. It brings income to the town and to local businesses. It is a feather in the cap for Littlehampton, something that not many other towns have. The parade offers a rare opportunity for local groups, clubs and businesses to showcase themselves.

This annual event gives something to the community – a rarity these days. This year LBS had attracted 33 different groups to join the parade from as far afield as London and The Isle of Wight. The Littlehampton Bonfire society is a part of a longstanding tradition in Sussex and a member of the Sussex Association.

The bonfire societies of 9 Sussex towns were to have attended our event 2023. Every year we see such traditions gradually dilute and slowly disappear. Littlehampton lost its summer carnival parade just over 10 years ago – we do not wish to lose this event also!

The society has genuine concern for the future of our event. The committee are looking at a variety of options going forward. We are seeking sponsorship from a variety of sources – this message being one of these. LBS has set the date of 7th February by which we hope to have raised in the region of £10,000. If we fall short of this target then we will not be able to begin to plan for a full parade, bonfire and fireworks event for 2024 and it will likely never return.
If you wish to support the Littlehampton Bonfire Society to be able to go forward then now is the time to get behind us – if you wait, then it may well be too late. The society has to raise a minimum of £10,000 by 7th February or our platinum jubilee event in 2022 is highly likely to have been the last event of its kind in the town.

To donate:

Thank you for your invaluable support!

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2023 Cancellation

We hoped for the best, but unfortunately, the 2023 event has had to be cancelled due to poor weather.

It was deemed to be too unsafe to continue. We’re absolutely devastated, but we need to ensure things are safe, and we were just unable to do this.

The 2023 event may be a no-go, but be assured that Littlehampton Bonfire Society, its committee, and its members will be soon forging ahead with the plans for 2024.

We burn to do good.