Great British Beer Festival moves to Earls Court

Following a record number of visitors to the Great British Beer Festival in 2005, the exhibition is moving from Olympia down the road to Earls Court for 2006. The event has been at Olympia since 1992 and during this time has seen amazing growth, no more so than this year’s record number of 47,000 visitors through the door – an increase of nearly 2,000 people on last year - making this CAMRA’s most successful beer festival ever.

With the success of the event at Olympia, it makes sense to keep the Festival at a central London venue which appeals to visitors given easy access via public transport and move to Earls Court for 2006. August is traditionally perceived as a quiet time in the exhibition calendar, but the success of the Great British Beer Festival proves this wrong – if the event is popular people will still come, visit and enjoy!

“One of the best things about being onsite at Olympia throughout the week,” commented Louise Ashworth from CAMRA “is seeing the high proportion of young visitors during the evenings. If we can attract tens of thousands of under 30s to one beer festival, think what this means for the future of real ale. Our record number of visitors this year really demonstrates that we are ready to move to Earls Court which offers more space and great transport links. We are already planning our move in 2006.”

“Over the past 15 years we have seen the Great British Beer Festival grow from strength to strength. We are thrilled that as the event has evolved we have been able to support the organisers and create a true partnership ethos with the team at CAMRA,” explained Jeremy Rees, Exhibition Sales Director at Earls Court & Olympia. “We are delighted we have been able to help them develop the Festival and that we can provide space at Earls Court for next year, to ensure the Festival continues to succeed and meet the demands of visitors looking to enjoy the real ale experience.”

The Great British Beer Festival will be held at Earls Court in 2006 from 1 to 5 August. - ends - Notes for Editor About CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale is a not for profit, membership organisation with 80,000 members which was founded in 1971.