Nottingham's Goose Fair set to return as a special ten-day event

Nottingham's world-famous Goose Fair event is set to make a big comeback, with a special one-off ten-day run this year.

The fair, which attracts thousands of visitors to the city, hasn't been held for two years because of the pandemic - but final talks are underway to secure its' longest-ever staging this September.

The fair brings white-knuckle rides, sideshows, fairground food and lots more to the Forest Recreation Ground. Visitor numbers regularly exceed the 400,000 mark.

And after two no-show years, organisers are keen to make up for lost time and revenue.

The Showman's Guild and Nottingham City Council have agreed in principle to double the length of the Goose Fair, event, to run from Friday 30th September to Sunday 9th October.William Percival, Chairman of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Showman's Guild, said:

"The showmen have agreed for Goose Fair for this year to be a ten-day fair mainly to spread the people out, offering them more days to come, as we are hoping there will be a lot of people.

"We have agreed in principle. There's still other bits and bobs we've got to iron out with the council first before we sign the contract."We haven't got any issues at our end. Hopefully we'll get Goose Fair back to what it was in 2019. That's what we've asked for and to allow it to be run as it's always run."It would be nice to have a bumper turn out. The fairs we did last year and are doing this year people seem to be attending so we're hoping we'll have a big attendance."

A Nottingham City Council spokesman said "We must undergo a process of assurance testing both within the council and with external partners to ensure the fair can be delivered safely and with the minimum of increased impact."These assurances would be tested through the usual major event planning processes.

"We believe there is much to learn from staging a longer event, particularly this year, and this trial and these findings would be used to review options for the future."This year's longer-form Goose Fair follows last year's controversy when council plans to erect a perimeter fence around the recreation ground and charge admission were dismissed outright by the Showman's Guild. The issue was further complicated by government proposals for Covid passports for large-scale events.

Organisers are hoping this year's event will help keep the Goose Fair's impressive record as Nottingham's longest-running family-fun gathering, intact.