Truckfest was founded in 1983 by Bob Limming and Colin Ward of Live Promotions. Ward’s entire family were involved in the road haulage business, and he came up with the idea of a truck festival after hearing his brother, a lorry driver, remark on a subtle but important change in the road transport industry: driving was becoming a skilled vocation, and lorry drivers were starting to take pride in their vehicles. This made Colin realize that there was a gap in the market that could be filled by a show specifically for truck drivers and their trucks.
The inaugural Truckfest was held at Newark and Notts Showground in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire during the Easter weekend of 1983. Sadly, truck manufacturers were not particularly interested in participating; the only company that took part in the event was a Mercedes dealership, beginning a long-standing association between Mercedes and Truckfest. However, truck drivers were more enthusiastic; more than 200 drivers with their working trucks participated in the first Truckfest, making the event a huge success.
After the event, the truck industry lobbied to move Truckfest to a slightly later date, mainly due to the weather. The organizers decided to hold it on the May Bank Holiday weekend, but the new date was too close to the long-established Nottinghamshire County Show, so they had to find a new venue. The second Truckfest was held at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. The show was a fixture in Peterborough’s calendar of events for almost four decades, but had to move to the Lincolnshire Showground in 2024 due to the redevelopment of the East of England Showground.
As of 2024, the Truckfest family included eight more shows in addition to the main Truckfest in Lincoln:
- Truckfest North East in Wolsingham, Durham
- Truckfest West Midlands in Malvern, Worcestershire
- Truckfest Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland
- Truckfest South East in Ardingly, West Sussex
- Truckfest Wales in Llanelwedd, Wells
- Truckfest South West in Shepton Mallet, Somerset
- Truckfest North West in Knutsford, Chesire
- Truckfest Original in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
Each Truckfest offers an impressive showcase of trucks of all shapes and sizes (including American rigs, customized trucks, emergency vehicles, and vintage trucks), as well as an exciting program of events and activities such as Monster Truck Car Crushing Action, BMX demonstrations, meetings with celebrity guests, and truck rides. Truckfest Lincoln has an even more packed program that also features airshows and parachute displays, industry stands showcasing the very latest from leading vehicle manufacturers, truck pulling competitions, and more.
Every year, Truckfest Lincoln showcases more than 3,000 trucks and draws around 65,000 visitors, about 10,000 of whom choose to camp on site during the event.
Photo: truckfest.co.uk
