Event News
Events
in brief
UK’s largest outdoor motorhome
show celebrates 30th year
The National Motorhome
and Campervan Show will be
celebrating its 30th show this
year.
The show, which regularly
attracts 10,000 day visitors and
6,000 campers, is the UK’s largest
outdoor motorhome event.
The show normally takes place
at the start of the touring season,
when many outdoor enthusiasts
are looking to upgrade to a new
motorhome or improve their
existing one, but is going to be
postponed until later in the year
due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Local and regional dealers will
have over 600 new and used
vehicles on display across the
250-acre site and an exhibition
where more than 300 exhibitors
will be selling accessories and
other merchandise.
Visitors will be able to take
campervan test drives and
manoeuvring courses, and attend
free seminars for advice and
education on their vehicles. For
the 6,000 people expected to be
staying on-site for the three-day
event, the show also features live
entertainment on four nights
including headline performances
from Suzi Quatro and The Sweet.
The new dates for the National
Motorhome and Campervan Show
are to be announced. It will be
held at the East of England Arena.
10 — April
UK’S BIGGEST GAMING FESTIVAL CANCELLED
Event: Insomnia66
Venue: NEC Birmingham
Date: 10-13 April 2020
Insomnia began in 1999 with the first I-Series, a LAN event put together by Craig
Fletcher which marked the beginning of his business, Multiplay Events. Multiplay
Events later became Player1 events, following an acquisition by Unity in 2018. The
event aimed to bring gamers together in a community-focused way; feedback from the
community is a major component when deciding what kind of content is at the show.
In the 20 years since, the bi-annual show has been given a new name, and has
expanded to include an expo, a main stage and even camping. Despite being its 66th
iteration, the goal of the show has always remained the same; to bring gamers together
and drive the content of show with feedback from the community.
Insomnia routinely attracts between 45,000-50,000 attendees per show, and includes
the BYOC gaming network, where attendees can game together on the UK’s biggest
LAN network and take part in esports tournaments, an expo where visitors can learn
about the latest games and gaming tech, and the ‘world famous’ Insomnia pub quiz
which regularly sells out.
Insomnia66 was cancelled due to COVID-19. The event said on a statement on its
website: “It’s with incredible disappointment and reluctance that we have to update
you that Insomnia66...is cancelled due to COVID-19. We appreciate this will come as a
major disappointment, but we want to ensure our priority is the welfare of our guests,
exhibitors, staff, volunteers and suppliers; as well as producing a show of the high
standard you have come to expect and enjoy.
“A lot of work from our very dedicated Insomnia family has gone into making this
event happen and this outcome is far from what we envisaged for Insomnia66. To
make the best of this difficult situation, we will be dedicating time to working with our
partners and exhibitors to make our summer show better than ever.
“In the interim, your feedback on ideas to keep our community spirit alive, is very
greatly appreciated. Insomnia will return with Insomnia67 from 28-31 August at the
NEC, Birmingham.”
What’s next?
Marketing and social manager for Player1 events, Phil Crawford, said: “Every year
we keep our ear to the ground and shape the show based on what new games are
popular, what gaming-related content people want to see and of course, what kind of
entertainment and tournaments our community want to see.”