Goose Fair set for another 10 day stint in Nottingham

Nottingham City Council and the Showmen’s Guild have announced that Goose Fair will once again be held over ten days in 2023, between Friday 29th September and Sunday 8th October 2023.

The decision follows the successful staging of the fair over ten days in 2022, which saw an extra 130,000 visitors in comparison to the five-day event in 2019.

Over half a million visitors came to Goose Fair last year from across the region, helping to generate a significant economic uplift for the city. This included visitor spend and local event suppliers and companies, who provided the visiting showmen with goods ranging from catering supplies and consumables to accommodation.

In reaching this decision, it was recognised that a ten-day fair does impact on local residents and some businesses in and around the Forest Recreation Ground. The council will work with those affected to seek to mitigate some of the concerns raised during last year’s fair.

The environmental impact of the event, both on the city’s carbon neutral ambitions and more locally on Hyson Green, has also been considered. Showmen’s Guild members attending the fair will now pay a 3% levy on the site fees, to help the event become more sustainable in future years.

With over 250 rides and attractions and thrills aplenty for all ages, the fair is one of the largest travelling fun fairs in Europe, and Nottingham city’s biggest event in its annual events calendar.

No decision has been made on the length of the fair in future years.

Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning at Nottingham City Council, said: “Nottingham’s Goose Fair has been staged annually since at least 1284, and so it’s great to see that it will return in 2023 for a ten-day event.

“This longer period will allow opportunities for more local and regional visitors, increase the city’s economic uplift, and enable new and impressive rides and attractions as well as returning favourites. We look forward to welcoming the Showmen’s Guild back for another fantastic event for all the family to enjoy.”

William Percival, Chair of the Showmen’s Guild (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire branch), said: “We’re pleased to welcome this good news after the success of the ten-day fair last year, which worked well for the showmen, the council and local businesses in Nottingham. We’re grateful to the council in allowing us to bring an extended fair for a second year, and hopefully it will be as successful as it was in 2022. We’d like to thank the council’s events team for the work they’ve done with the Showmen’s Guild to make this possible.”