The people of Eastbourne voted with their feet to give an amazing welcome back to Eastbourne Pier.
Nearly 10,000 people promenaded around the elegant Victorian structure to witness first-hand the devastation of the fire and the amazing re-building work now underway.
Live bands, magicians, jugglers and a stilt-walker entertained the crowds, while pier shops did brisk trade. The holiday atmosphere continued into the evening, as 900 university students, clubbers and music lovers descended on Atlantis nightclub to dance the night away.
The media also turned out in force to record the historic re-opening of the pier, just two months after fire through the arcade. It was only thanks to the heroic efforts of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, the RNLI and the coastguard that the blaze was brought under control and pier was saved from complete devastation.
Sky News covered the opening throughout the day, while the Eastbourne Herald, Sovereign Radio, BBC and Meridian made sure that everybody in Sussex knew about the re-opening.
Eastbourne Pier general manager Christos Stylianou described the re-opening as “exhilarating”. He said: “The building and maintenance teams worked round the clock to ensure the pier was ready to open on Saturday September 27. But the big question was would the people of Eastbourne come along to have a look.
“I am delighted to say that we knew the answer to that question even before the official opening at 12 noon,” he said. “We had more than 600 people waiting at the gates to come in, and the numbers kept growing. There was a real party atmosphere over the weekend and I cannot thank the community enough for their support.”
Earlier in the day, Christos hosted a special VIP tour for all the people who had helped behind the scenes to bring the pier back to life so quickly. Guests included Eastbourne and Willingdon MP Stephen Lloyd, Cllr David Tutt, leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, Cllr Annabelle West, and representatives of the Pier Committee, which was chaired jointly by Cllr Tutt and Cllr David Elkin, leader of the Conservative Group.
A bouquet of sunflowers was placed at the front of the pier by colleagues of Stephen Penrice, who tragically died during the rebuilding of the pier.
