Thanks for the memories: The East of England Showground hosts its final MCN Festival of Motorcycling

It was a fond farewell to the East of England Showground, as tens of thousands of visitors enjoyed a combination of live events, test rides, bargains and manufacturer stands at the final Devitt MCN Festival of Motorcycling on the site.

The Peterborough event was first staged in 1961 as the BMF Show, becoming the UK’s largest motorcycle festival. The BMF ran the event until 2014 with MCN taking over the following year.

Sadly the ground, which features a speedway track and is home to the Peterborough Panthers, will now be developed to provide new homes, a school and a leisure facility.

But all that was absent from the minds of the 20,829 festival-goers who came to soak up the action, grab a bargain and meet with MCN staff and our range of long-term test bikes.

Ross Patterson, who had travelled from Kettering, has been to the last six festivals at the showground, he said: “The shows are good, and the Moped Mayhem is always good for a laugh. There’s always something to look at and something to do.”  

Dexter Douglas had been to the event a decade ago and had ridden over from Bedford on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was accompanied by friend Gareth Underhill.

Dexter said: “The discounts and the clearance sections have been good, but I have already spent too much on my bike so I will have to tone it down for a little bit.”

Gareth added: “There are more manufacturers here than I thought there would be, stands like the CCM, I just love it, they are beautifully made.”

Motorcycle clubs were also out in force with many perennial visitors over the decades. Erica Gassor, Head of the Oxford and Reading branch of the Honda Owners’ Club, spoke to MCN on the final day of the event: “Yesterday we had a great day, and we sold loads of regalia and we also got a good membership enrolment. 

“It’s very sad it’s closing because it’s central and if you go too far afield you won’t encourage so many people and it’s very sad that it’s going to be developed as it’s a good venue.”

Silverstone Auctions were there for the second year, with 156 lots up for grabs during their Sunday mega-auction. Headliners included a 1989 Honda RC30 for £25,875, and a 2163cc Confederate Hellcat that fetched £34,312.

Mark Bryan, Motorcycle Manager at Silverstone Auctions, said: “The interest has been pretty good. Lots of people, lots of interest in pretty much all the bikes. We had a lot of internet bidders and phone bidders already booked too which makes for a lively event.”

We can’t yet share with you the plans for 2024, but we’re working hard to secure the venue for next year’s MCN Festival and we are confident it’ll be bigger and better than ever. Watch this space!

Join Ben Clarke and Michael Neeves for a walk around of the Festival on Saturday in this video: