ROVERFEST POSTPONED FOR THE SECOND TIME
Financial, travel and COVID-19 concerns force cancellation of massive show until 2022
A major single marque event that was set to attract more than 700 cars has been postponed until next year. Organised by the Joint Rover Clubs committee catering for the marque, Roverfest was set to take place at Sywell Aerodrome in Northamptonshire on 6-8 August.
Rover Sports Register chairman, Mike Maher, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘The decision to postpone the event was taken with great regret.
‘We had been very much looking forward to the event, especially as Roverfest didn’t go ahead last year, but safety is our top priority and we have a duty of care to people.
‘While England has started its journey on a roadmap out of lockdown with a programme of vaccinations and plans to gradually relax COVID-19 restrictions if circumstances permit, there are warnings of other waves of the infection on the horizon. The UK’s other devolved administrations are on similar but different timetables. This could affect travel in the UK, and it seems unlikely that international visitors will be able to come to the UK for Roverfest in the short term. It was also likely that some social distancing would still be in place.
‘Events had been scheduled for May or June but these tended to be pre-booked, whereas Roverfest tended to favour people who turn up on the day.
‘Although the event was in August there would not be a lot of time to publicise any changes in club magazines and so on. If the event had gone ahead and didn’t cover its costs, these would ultimately have to be borne by clubs. We would be acting irresponsibly in our duties to safeguard finances.
‘Given the uncertainties we all face in the near future we do hope that people understand the rationale behind taking this difficult decision.’
Clubs involved include the Rover Sports Register, Rover P4 Club, Rover P5 Club, Rover P6 Club, Rover P6 Owners’ Club, SD1 Club, Rover Coupé Owners Club, Rover 75 and MG ZT Owners’ Club and the Rover 200/400 Club.
Roverfest 2022 has already been scheduled for 5-7 August next year.