MotoFest Coventry announces break for 2025

A major car festival which attracts thousands of people annually has announced it will not take place this year.

MotoFest Coventry, which marked its tenth anniversary last year, will be taking a break due to work on the City Centre South development blocking the festival site.

However, a range of moto-themed activities will still take place on the weekend beginning 31 May, but feature in a more concentrated area of Coventry.

Elements will be carried over from the festival, including classic vehicle displays in Broadgate, Coventry Concours in the Cathedral Ruins, and live motorsport in the Autotest Arena on Gosford Street under the Ring Road.

"We've had some real practical challenges this year in the city to overcome and particularly some issues with the festival site," said James Noble, MotoFest Coventry festival director.

He told BBC CWR: "The new City Centre South development cuts the festival site in two, while the demolition hasn't happened yet the holdings make it quite difficult to navigate from one end of the city to the other.

"We took the decision to concentrate on what we were doing in the very centre of the city."

The weekend will start with a motorcycle ride-in which sees a convoy of bikes and motorcycles lap the Ring Road - which will be fully open to regular traffic.

Also planned is a parade of police and emergency vehicles from around the world at Millennium Place in front of Coventry Transport Museum, and at the Coventry Concours a celebration of 50 years of the Jaguar XJS.

Mr Noble said: "When the big event comes back, there will be a new format for motorsport so we needed to clear the decks.

"We hope it will be back in its super huge size next year."

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