Goodwood Festival of Speed postponed

The Goodwood Festival of Speed has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Organisers have confirmed that the annual automotive extravaganza will not take place on July 9-12, as originally planned. However, they are hopeful that the event can be rescheduled for later in the year.

Announcing the decision, the Duke of Richmond, owner of the Goodwood Estate, said the uncertainty around how long the outbreak may last had forced organisers to suspend the event indefinitely to ensure the safety of competitors, exhibitors and visitors.

Goodwood had already cancelled its annual Members Meeting race event, due to take place on March 28-29 and has said it is keeping plans for the Goodwood Revival under review. At the moment, the historic racing event is still due to go ahead on September 11-13.

(Photo: Goodwood/Jayson Fong)(Photo: Goodwood/Jayson Fong)
(Photo: Goodwood/Jayson Fong)

In a statement, the Festival’s organisers said that they were currently exploring alternative dates in late summer or early autumn and expected to make a decision on new dates in the coming weeks.

Tickets already purchased for the event will remain valid for the rescheduled dates

The Duke of Richmond said: “Over the last few weeks, we have been working together with everyone involved to understand the viability of the Festival of Speed going ahead in July. Due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus threat and not knowing whether the situation will have significantly improved by then, we sadly need to postpone the Festival of Speed in July.

“These are dramatic and unbelievable times but they will pass and we are already trying to think about just how exciting it’s going to be to welcome you all back to Goodwood for what perhaps might be the ‘greatest event ever’.

(Photo: Goodwood/Drew Gibson)(Photo: Goodwood/Drew Gibson)
(Photo: Goodwood/Drew Gibson)

Goodwood organisers are also examining new dates for the 78th Members’ Meeting but in the meantime have announced a live streaming event over the weekend of March 28-29 to replace the actual event.

The Goodwood Road & Racing website will stream a selection of previous races and demonstrations from the GRRC archive.

The live stream will begin at 10am and run until 6pm on Saturday, continuing through the same hours on Sunday.