Leading UK event date tweak could be a boon for enthusiasts and collectors
Words James Elliott
AFTER YEARS OF the UK’s leading international concours overlapping, one of them has trimmed its event to bring some cohesion to the season. Along with the Cartier Style et Luxe during Goodwood’s Festival of Speed, Salon Privé and Concours of Elegance are unquestionably the UK’s blue riband events, but the two concours have always vied for enthusiasts and entrants’ attention during the same late-summer week.
Salon Privé started at London’s Hurlingham Club in 2006 and moved to Syon Park for several years before settling at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford. Since then it has expanded hugely and, while the main event on the concours lawn remains an elite classic garden party, a host of activities has been added to the weekend menu to attract a broader audience.
Concours of Elegance kicked off in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and in its first year attracted one of the greatest concours fields ever assembled to Windsor Castle, for a one-off event that included a dinner graced by top royals. It then embarked on a tour around royal palaces, including St James’ and Holyrood in Edinburgh, before finding a home at Hampton Court, where it has flourished.
Both Salon Privé and Thorough Events, the team behind Concours of Elegance, have also launched London events in spring, Salon Privé London taking place at the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the London Concours’ home being the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London.
With the UK’s major concours season already well underway, Salon Privé has now announced a major change that is set to shake up the summer. Its main concours event will now take place at Blenheim on 30-31 August, which may not seem a huge change, but the new two-day format will make both concours more easily accessible for people.
The Salon Privé event itself will retain its four-day billing from Wednesday 30 August to Saturday 2 September, but the concours element will now shorten from three days to two, on 30-31 August. That will be followed by Boodles’ Ladies Day and then the final public day on ‘Super Saturday’. Salon Privé chairman Andrew Bagley said: ‘With the UK automotive events calendar seemingly at bursting point, organisers have an obligation to work together for the good of the car community.’ The change will ‘pave the way for collectors and enthusiasts to attend more events over the period’.
The news comes amid the first press salvoes of the year for both events, with Bagley outlining the itinerary and also sayin
