Iconic Goodyear Blimp Tours South England

Look! Up in the sky – it’s a bird, it’s a plane… It's the Goodyear Blimp!

Have you been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the iconic blimp? 

For the past two days, the famous airship has been soaring through the skies over the South of England – sailing over cities such as Portsmouth, Southampton and London.

Although perhaps more readily associated with the USA, the Goodyear Blimp is no stranger to Europe. 

It was first sailing through our skies as far back as 1972 – appearing in England, France, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.

Last year the Blimp returned to the skies of Europe for the first time in almost a decade, appearing at motoring events such as Le Mans 24. 

The Goodyear Blimp

This version of the Goodyear Blimp currently touring key locations is a Zeppelin NT airship – operated by Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei GmbH.

Measuring in at 18m in height and 75m long – that is around three-quarters of a football pitch – this type of airship is the same as used by the three Goodyear Blimps operating within the USA.

For those of you who love a fun fact, here’s are some key moments from the history of the Goodyear Blimp fleet:

• 1917: Goodyear Blimp prototype - the B1 – flies over Chicago.
• 1930: The Goodyear Blimp is the very first airship to carry a lighted sign.
• 1955: For the first time, used to provide live coverage of a televised event
• 1965: Appears in the Beatles film Help!
• 1972: The Europa launches in Europe – originally from Cardington Airfield, UK and then later based in Italy.
• 1984: Two Goodyear blimps work in tandem – for the first time - to cover the Los Angeles Olympics.
• 2020: The blimp makes a triumphant return to Europe, appearing above the Le Mans 24 hour race.

You can find out more about the Goodyear Blimp here.

Or, visit the Goodyear car tyres section of Blackcircles.com to discover our full range of Goodyear tyres.