MotoFest Coventry revs up for 2021 return as it reveals full events programme
MotoFest Coventry is getting revved up for its return with a full programme of events unveiled for all of its festival weekends.
The latest additions to the MotoFest schedule are a series of Drive In shows and music events, set to take place from the 4th to 8th August 2021.
The Drive In screenings will begin with the special screenings of three new BBC commissioned documentaries – Classic British Cars: Made in Coventry, Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain and Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes – all celebrating Coventry’s contribution to Culture.
Each of the BBC documentaries will be screened in Millennium Place, Coventry on the evenings of 4th and 5th August both days, and will be free to attend by registering in advance at https://bit.ly/BBCDrivein.
Following on from the BBC documentaries is the MotoFest Film Festival, taking place on the afternoon and evening of 6th August at Millennium Place and the evening of the 7th August at Coventry Cathedral Ruins.
For the Film Festival, there will be an exclusive screening of both Disney’s Cars and the Blues Brothers on the 6th August, with details on tickets for the event available at https://bit.ly/CMFportal/. A special screening of The Italian Job, organised in partnership with Flatpack Festival as part of CineCov, will take place in the Cathedral Ruins, with more details available at https://bit.ly/CineCov.
There will also be a Drive In MotoFest show at Millennium Place on 7th August. A live stage show, it will be packed with awesome music, guest interviews and some of Coventry’s finest vehicles, past, present and future, on both 2 wheels and four. This will be further supplemented with the Nexus ICA stage, also in Millenium Place, on 7th and 8th August, featuring local Coventry bands and musicians.
The entertainment extravaganza will take place across MotoFest Coventry’s new format for the 2021 festival. For this year, MotoFest Coventry will switch from its traditional date on the first weekend in June, to a new ‘MotoFest Month 2021’ programme, stretched out across three individual MotoFest Coventry weekends, on 17th to 18thJuly, 24th to 25th July and 7th to 8th August.
James Noble, Coventry MotoFest Coventry Festival Director, said: “We are delighted at the return of MotoFest Coventry in 2021.
“As a result of the need to comply with the Covid 19 regulations on large scale crowds at single events, MotoFest Month 2021 will look different to previous years. However, the festival ethos, particularly the commitment to hosting a celebration of the city’s motoring heritage, remains the same.
“The new format gives us a whole month’s worth of activities instead of the usual two-day festival, and whether you are a two wheeled or a four wheeled fan, there is something for everyone.
“We look forward to welcoming the public to a packed programme of events and activities, that will celebrate the best of two and four wheels across three festival weekends.”
Each of the three new MotoFest Coventry weekends will be themed around future innovation, motorcycles and classic and modern modified cars. The initial launch weekend on 17th and 18th July, organised in partnership with the Transport Innovation Board, saw the launch of the ‘Our Future Moves’ exhibition in the Coventry Transport Museum, celebrating new technologies and future innovation.
The 24th and 25th July will go full throttle for two wheeled fans, with the Motorcycle Weekend set to include the traditional MotoFest Coventry Ride In from the historic Coombe Abbey Hotel, Coventry to the City Centre. For this year’s event, riders need to sign up by registering on the Club MotoFest Portal. For more information on how to get involved visit www.coventrymotofest.com/motofest-month-2021/motorcycles/
Alongside the Ride In there will be the Ken Fox Wall of Death troupe, static motorcycle displays, individual and club displays and the MotoFest Classic and Custom Bike Show – with trophies awarded across a number of categories.
On the same 24th to 25th July weekend, there is also the annual Coventry Concours event – sponsored by prestige classic, sports and racing car sales brand Car-Iconics and Bike-Iconics – a premium car show with entrants having the opportunity to display their vehicles in the iconic Coventry Cathedral Ruins.
There will be a strong Coventry theme to the cars and motorcycles on display with manufacturer models from Jaguar, Daimler, Standard, Triumph, Rootes Group and Armstrong Sideley, all represented at the show.
The final weekend on 7th and 8th August is the MotoFest Car Weekend, celebrating both the old and the new, with classic cars over 30 years old and Modern Modified, modern classics and modified cars under 30 years old, on display across the city centre.
For the classic cars big weekend out, there will be a dedicated display area in Broadgate and surrounding areas of the city centre to showcase over 100 classic vehicles.
As well as displays, there will be a special 125-year anniversary celebration of the city’s famous car and bicycle manufacturer brand, Rileys, with an array of festivities planned to mark the occasion.
The Modern Modified, modern classics and modified cars under 30 years old, will feature a Modern Modified Show and Shine competition and an evening display titled ‘MotoFest Underground’.
There will also be on Sunday 8th August, the new ‘Heroes Hour’ initiative, with 16 unsung heroes of the pandemic, chosen through a public nomination process, taking part in a special city centre parade featuring the Ecto1 car from the Ghostbusters film and a flanked escort of 14 New York Police Department squad cars.
Following the parade, the Ecto1 and the 14 American police cars will then park up as part of the Modern Modified Car display.
Nominations for the MotoFest Heroes Hour initiative are still open at https://forms.gle/UUHLHCML6eGGSni58.
MotoFest Coventry is dedicated to the city’s motoring heritage, taking place in 2021 across three weekends in July and August as part of the new ‘MotoFest Month 2021’ schedule.
As the largest free motoring festival in the UK, it brings live motorsport, including dynamic motorsport displays, classic and performance vehicles, and the cutting edge of automotive innovation right into the heart of the UK’s Motor City, free for everyone to enjoy across three weekends.
For more details visit https://www.coventrymotofest.com/motofest-month-2021/.
