30/07/2020
[Kristian] ALL EURO DAY 2020 CANCELLED.
Hi everyone, we've had to make a fairly tough decision to cancel All Euro Day for this year and look at having another shot at it in 2021.
With COVID doing its best to stuff everything again with a second wave, we couldn't take the risk to spend money on an event that doesn't enable us to control spectator numbers (without putting up fences) and put the organisers and/or our insurance policy at risk.
There's part of me that wants to leave the message here, but the reality is All Euro Day has been a lot of blood sweat and tears for the small bunch of volunteers who organise it every year. Every year, we have had to fight for every entry to come in, and when they do, they seem to come in a rush at the last minute, leaving us to stress over whether or not we're going to be paying for the event losses out of our own pockets.
There are people who turn up and pay on the day and think that they can come and go as they please, which puts spectators and staff in danger. Our event is not just nice off-street parking - spectators often can't make it to the event at certain times, and having a set 'lock-in' time for entrants means that people can turn up and know they will get to see everything. Every year we have to deal with entitled knob-ends who only think the rules apply to other people, and it usually results in entrants driving through crowds, ignoring the instructions of staff along the way, which causes genuine distress amongst the crew.
This kind of behaviour ruins it for the entrants who do the right thing. I'm most disappointed for the smaller European car clubs (I won't attempt to name you all) who have faithfully supported the event over the years and use it as an opportunity to showcase their vehicles to younger enthusiasts.
So yes, while COVID has stuffed All Euro Day for this year, it gives us the opportunity to regroup and look at whether or not the event continues in the future. If you have some ideas on how we can boost entry numbers and manage entrant behaviour on the day, we're all ears.
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