INTERVIEW
For 2026, you’re projecting around the 10,000-visitors a day mark. What are the main operational changes or layout adjustments required when scaling a festival to manage that volume of riders and families? And is there still room to grow? The reality of scaling the event is actually quite simple. Instead of 120 toilets, we now need 150. Instead of four shower blocks, we need five. The same suppliers get the same phone call and the same email as before, just with a slightly larger order and a slightly larger invoice! Of course, that’s only part of the story. Growth also means bringing additional fields into use, recruiting more staff, managing more contractors and spending even more hours glued to multiple spreadsheets. On paper, it sounds straightforward. In reality, every extra visitor adds another layer of planning, logistics and responsibility. The alarm clock now goes off at 4:30 am every morning, including weekends. That’s probably the most visible sign of how much the event has grown. Our current licence allows for up to 9,999 people
on-site each day. That figure can be increased if required, although doing so would involve additional planning, infrastructure and regulatory requirements. It would also mean working through more of the necessary processes with Herefordshire’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) to ensure the event continues to operate safely and responsibly. Thankfully, they have been supportive throughout our growth and remain fully engaged in helping us plan for the future.
With around 130 trade and expo stands occupying the village, it is clear that brands are eager to get involved. How do you approach designing the layout to ensure that every exhibitor, from massive global bike brands to small component start-ups, gets true visibility and value for their investment? That’s a great question. Around five years ago, I invested heavily in an online, interactive floor plan through the UK’s leading floor plan provider. It’s worth its weight in gold for exhibitors, festival goers and the event team alike. It forms the foundation of the exhibitor experience because everyone knows exactly where they are, and it’s accurate to within a centimetre. From there, it’s about adding value. Every attending brand
receives social media activation because we genuinely appreciate their support. In some cases, we’ve even allocated a percentage of their stand fee to boost those social posts and increase their reach. We also look for the smaller opportunities to add value. For example, when we announce one of their sponsored riders attending the event, we’ll tag the brand’s Instagram account and sponsors wherever possible. It’s all part of the service and helping our exhibitors maximise their return on investment.
www.bikebiz.com
Si Paton and Clive Gosling
Based on the feedback you receive from brands, what are they primarily looking for from the event experience? Immediate sales, long-term brand awareness or product demonstrations? It’s a combination of all three, and it largely depends on the type of business. Retailers are typically focused on direct sales and return on investment. Last year, an exhibitor told me that, from a retail perspective, the Malverns Classic was their most successful event anywhere in the world. That’s a pretty powerful endorsement and demonstrates the spending power and engagement of our audience. For brands operating demo fleets, rider participation is
often the key metric. YT Industries, for example, measured success by the number of people riding their bikes over the weekend. If every bike in the fleet is out on the trails and
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