Peterborough at forefront of return to mass events says venue chief

Truckfest took place later than usual as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the event to move from it’s usual place in the calender of May.

There were doubts about whether it would take place at all but organisers and venue staff worked hard to ensure the event could be hosted in a safe manner.

Safety measures including a one way system, hand sanitisers, open air exhibits and a reduced capacity were in place to keep visitors as safe as possible.

The show was slightly smaller but there was still the same range of popular attractions to keep families entertained- from the spectacular monster truck displays and rides to a variety of shops and stalls.

Truckfest was one of the few major events that has taken place across the country since the outbreak in March and organisers see the event as a success and a blueprint for further such events to take place.

Jason Lunn, Venue Director at the East of England Showground said:“Peterborough is leading the way in this, as well as testing, there are a lot of good things people in the area are doing.

“Other places have hosted mass events but we are one of the only ones who have gone and got official Public Health England sign off.

“They have been impressed by the way we have been dealt with the challenges in an area that has experienced spikes in cases and remains on the government watchlist.

“We have now run the motor home show and Truckfest and they ran really, really well. Each event time you host an event you learn and we remain in a very constructive dialogue with PHE.

“For us, it’s about making sure visitors feel safe to come here and the next stage is looking into indoor events. We are hosting an antiques fair in October and I have been to a test event designed at looking into how we can safely bring back these kind of events. We still have some refining to do on that but are working on it.”

Truckfest organisers were also delighted with how the event went. Bob Limming, a Director at Live Promotions Events Limited added: “It was a pleasure to run the show this year. We had the weather for the two days the show was on and I think everyone was so pleased to get back together.

“Many people have now reached the stage where if they can go out they want to. They are also very aware and happy to comply with all the measures we put in place.

“I’ve seen some of the feedback on social media and it has all been very positive. It brought back some much-needed normality.

“We worked very closely with a number of bodies including the East of England Showground, Public Health England and the Police to ensure that the event could happen in a safe way. I’m grateful for the way they all came together in a very pro-active way and it is a testament to Peterborough.

“The event was slightly different, we steered people towards online bookings and had to annouce that Sunday was completely sold out, which we have never done before. We also used no buildings and grandstands, it was all in the open so everything could spread out. We definitely think we’ve put together a blueprint we can use for our other shows across the country.

It was great that it could all be done responsibly in Peterborough though, the place we consider the home of Truckfest.

“I would like to thank everybody who came and made it possible. My highlight was seeing all the families who came and engaged fully in the show.”