Category: News

More than 14 thousand outdoor enthusiasts attended the first edition of The National Outdoor Expo in partnership with Ordnance Survey at the NEC, Birmingham this weekend (19-20 March 22), immersing themselves in the best that the outdoor industry has to offer. The sun shone, fun was abundant, sustainability was discussed from every angle and visitors came face-to-face with the famous faces who inspire and motivate them to live a healthy, active, sustainable lifestyle, absorbing the best mother nature has to offer.

The show’s two stages played host to experts and adventurers from across the world of outdoor pursuits including Ben Fogle, James Cracknell, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Iwan Thomas, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, Julia Bradbury, Ed Stafford, Anna McNuff, Darren Edwards, Mario Rigby and Dwayne Fields, regaling packed theatres with the highs, lows, achievements and failures from a life spent in the outdoors.

The show was created for runners, campers, climbers, walkers and lovers of outdoor cooking, excursions, open water swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding. Visitors in their thousands spent the weekend enjoying the incredible spring weather out of Pendigo Lake, making the most of the Expos’ watersports offering from NOWCA, Venture by Pyrahna and Red Paddle Co. Budding climbers tested their skills on the Climbing wall sponsored by Montane X BMC, learned bushcraft skills in the special zone run by Wildway Bushcraft, tested the terrain on the trail running track from Decathlon and OS and learned new skills in The Outdoor Kitchen feature with Camping and Caravanning Club.

Visitors were able to shop their favourite brands, get the latest kit and tech and discuss their requirements with the experts. Top brands including Ordnance Survey, Whereabouts, Decathlon, adidas TERREX, Salomon, Vango, Red Paddle Co, Cotopaxi, Rumpl, Teva, 2XU, Mountain Hardware, Grayl, Earthwear, Knog, Fulfil Nutrition and Nomad Trailers were on hand to help visitors find the right kit for them.

The Expo attracted adventurers of every age with families, couples, friends and solo visitors travelling from as far afield as Shetland and Cornwall to attend the event. Packed full of interactive activities, visitors cheered each other on as they battled it out in the Speedtent Challenge with Vango,. Other features included a Wildlife Pavillion with Actively Outdoors plus a special Director’s Cut film and Q&A with Kendal Mountain Festival. The team at The Outdoor Guide were on hand to ensure that visitor’s outdoor accessibility needs were met, with brands including All Terrain Wheelchairs, ICE trikes and Mountain Trikes assisting visitors to find the right equipment to help them be active outdoors.

Esther Beal, Event Director at The National Outdoor Expo commented: “The feedback we have had after this weekend’s event has blown us all away. We are a small team with a huge heart for the outdoors and to have been able to welcome so many people to our first event and give them an opportunity to meet some of their hero’s was mission accomplished. The weather was on our side and the active outdoor element of the Expo worked seamlessly with the inspiration and retail opportunities inside the hall. Our plans are already underway for 2023 and it is going to be bigger and better than ever.”
The National Outdoor Expo will return on 18-19th March 2023, tickets will go on sale on 1 September. To be notified when tickets go on sale register for the Expo’s newsletter.

More than 14 thousand outdoor enthusiasts attended the first edition of The National Outdoor Expo in partnership with Ordnance Survey at the NEC, Birmingham this weekend (19-20 March 22), immersing themselves in the best that the outdoor industry has to offer. The sun shone, fun was abundant, sustainability was discussed from every angle and visitors came face-to-face with the famous faces who inspire and motivate them to live a healthy, active, sustainable lifestyle, absorbing the best mother nature has to offer.

The show’s two stages played host to experts and adventurers from across the world of outdoor pursuits including Ben Fogle, James Cracknell, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Iwan Thomas, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, Julia Bradbury, Ed Stafford, Anna McNuff, Darren Edwards, Mario Rigby and Dwayne Fields, regaling packed theatres with the highs, lows, achievements and failures from a life spent in the outdoors.

The show was created for runners, campers, climbers, walkers and lovers of outdoor cooking, excursions, open water swimming, kayaking and paddleboarding. Visitors in their thousands spent the weekend enjoying the incredible spring weather out of Pendigo Lake, making the most of the Expos’ watersports offering from NOWCA, Venture by Pyrahna and Red Paddle Co. Budding climbers tested their skills on the Climbing wall sponsored by Montane X BMC, learned bushcraft skills in the special zone run by Wildway Bushcraft, tested the terrain on the trail running track from Decathlon and OS and learned new skills in The Outdoor Kitchen feature with Camping and Caravanning Club.

Visitors were able to shop their favourite brands, get the latest kit and tech and discuss their requirements with the experts. Top brands including Ordnance Survey, Whereabouts, Decathlon, adidas TERREX, Salomon, Vango, Red Paddle Co, Cotopaxi, Rumpl, Teva, 2XU, Mountain Hardware, Grayl, Earthwear, Knog, Fulfil Nutrition and Nomad Trailers were on hand to help visitors find the right kit for them.

The Expo attracted adventurers of every age with families, couples, friends and solo visitors travelling from as far afield as Shetland and Cornwall to attend the event. Packed full of interactive activities, visitors cheered each other on as they battled it out in the Speedtent Challenge with Vango,. Other features included a Wildlife Pavillion with Actively Outdoors plus a special Director’s Cut film and Q&A with Kendal Mountain Festival. The team at The Outdoor Guide were on hand to ensure that visitor’s outdoor accessibility needs were met, with brands including All Terrain Wheelchairs, ICE trikes and Mountain Trikes assisting visitors to find the right equipment to help them be active outdoors.

Esther Beal, Event Director at The National Outdoor Expo commented: “The feedback we have had after this weekend’s event has blown us all away. We are a small team with a huge heart for the outdoors and to have been able to welcome so many people to our first event and give them an opportunity to meet some of their hero’s was mission accomplished. The weather was on our side and the active outdoor element of the Expo worked seamlessly with the inspiration and retail opportunities inside the hall. Our plans are already underway for 2023 and it is going to be bigger and better than ever.”
The National Outdoor Expo will return on 18-19th March 2023, tickets will go on sale on 1 September. To be notified when tickets go on sale register for the Expo’s newsletter.

Raccoon Media Group adds The National Equine Show to its rapidly growing portfolio of sports consumer events in the UK and the USA. The event will be a home for equestrians, providing a luxury retail experience, a first-class speaker line-up and experiential features in a premium environment.

The show will take place on the 4-5 March 2023 at the NEC, Birmingham set across two-days it will host 135 brands over an 8,000 space presenting all the brands that any show jumper, dressage, jockey, eventer or every day horse rider could want to see. The show will provide retailers with the perfect opportunity to speak directly to 10,000 equestrians helping them to select the right equipment and clothing for the season ahead, in and out of the arenas.

Event Director, Liz Ormesher who is a lifelong horse lover said: “After months of research and due-diligence we have found the perfect event model to support the equestrian community, there was a need for us to create a premium shopping experience where retail wasn’t fitted in around the horse shows. Secondly, the important conversations in the equine world, such as horse and riding well-being, safety, DE&I and sustainability, that need to be discussed on a bigger platform. Thirdly the calendar was missing an event in March to get people ready for the season ahead. So that’s exactly what we’ve created.”

The event is already breaking records for the number of brands confirmed in pre-launch stage and Liz continues, “The response has been incredible and we are delighted to already have a host of key partners and supporters lined up for the event including, British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) and the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and we’ll be working with them closely throughout the year on data projects to fill the national statistic gaps we have across the sport in general and within the different disciplines.”

The three stages will play host to some of the sport’s biggest names including – Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, Esme Higgs , Lydia Heywood, Alex Huan Tian, Piggy March and Khadija Mellah with more of the most well-known eventers, dressage, show jumpers, influencers, who will be sharing educational advice, skills and insight, expected to be announced in the coming months.

As well as the Inspiration Stage there will be a Skills & Safety and Yard Facilities stage, providing new and experienced horse owners and riders with an armoury of information and advice to get started or advance in their chosen horse discipline. There will also be luxury features such as The Catwalk, Horse and Rider Zone, a Champagne Bar, a Nail Bus and a Shop & Drop area for visitors to enjoy.

Claire Williams from BETA, is delighted with the partnership and has said ‘The new event fills a gap in the calendar and offers our retail members an opportunity to reach customers directly on a new and exciting platform.  It offers BETA the opportunity to talk to an audience of engaged equestrians about key topics such as rider and feed safety as we look towards the start of the competition season.’

Do you know someone who loves horses?

The box office will be opening soon with 500 limited free tickets available for the pre-launch. Sign up now https://nationalequineshow.com/sign-up-hpxt to access the pre-launch free tickets and we’ll notify you with a code as soon as the box office goes live. Not your thing? Make sure you let your horse loving friends know.

For more information about The National Equine Show visit nationalequineshow.com
The ticket box office will be open for pre-sale soon, but you can send ticket queries to alex@raccoonmediagroup.com. All commercial queries should go through to liz.ormesher@raccoonmediagroup.com

Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nationalequineshow/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NationalEquineShow and connect with us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/79402484/admin/

The Exhibition News Awards returns for its 15th annual ceremony this year and promises a not-to-miss evening. Two events that Outside & Active have covered in recent months, The National Running Show Birmingham and The National Snow Show, have both been nominated for the coveted awards in recognition of the success of each event.

National Running Show:

After the resounding success of the 4th Annual National Running Show Birmingham -attracting almost 20,000 runners to the NEC over a weekend – the show has been nominated for the coveted, Best Consumer Show Award. This award nomination recognises the hard work put in from staff to produce the event which then became whole by the thousands of amazing runners who attended over the weekend.

National Snow Show:

The National Snow Show headline feature, The Snow Dome Ski Slope, has been nominated for Best Feature Area at the 15th Annual EN Awards event taking place this March. The award nomination recognises the incredible effort from The National Snow Show and Snow Dome team to bring the Ski Slope to almost 10,000 visitors that attended the launching consumer show back in October. The show promised to bring together the Snow and Ski community under one roof after 18 months of difficulty for the industry – and absolutely delivered on all fronts.

For the full article, head to the Outside & Active Website. 

The National Running Show Birmingham, in partnership with Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, took place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 January 2022, attracting almost 20,000 runners who were able to prepare themselves for a successful year of running alongside running greats from around the world.

The weekend-long event was opened in style with Lord Sebastian Coe CH, KBE and Scott Jurek officially opening day one and Jonnie Peacock MBE opening day two. The halls quickly filled as visitors rushed to hear their running heroes including Kadeena Cox, Derek Redmond, Jenni Falconer, Carla Molinaro, Damian Hall and Sean Conway speaking on the three stages at the show.

The event provided a first class retail experience with Recommended Retail Partner Up & Running bringing key brands to the show such as Saucony, Adidas, New Balance, Ronhill, Hilly, Altra, Camelbak and Oofos.

Features included the Inspiration Stage sponsored by Sports Tours International, an Ultra Zone with Bad Boy Running and the Running Skills Theatre from the Running Channel. In addition there was The Sports Tours International Travel Centre, a Bra Fitting Bar from Runderwear, Events Village powered by Race Nation, Gait Analysis feature from Chiltern Physiotherapy, Trail Running Zone from Ordnance Survey, The Run Clinic from the Movement and Running School, The Saucony Running Track, Chill Out Zone from Crystal Ski, Kid’s Zone from Marathon Kids, Steve Cram’s Training Camp, Nutrition Zone from INDE-Fit with Ben Turner, Sweat Zone from JDK Fitness, The Treadmill Training Zone, The Strength Zone from Renovate Wellness, Rerun Recycling stand and a Run Café sponsored by Runderwear.

Speaking of the event, Jonnie Peacock MBE commented: “Seeing so many runners come together was amazing. The event showcased some of the biggest talents in the running world and gave unprecedented access to industry experts to help runners of all abilities improve. It was a pleasure to be a part of the show and I would encourage everyone to head to Farnborough in May for the next event.”

Nathalie Davies, Event Director at The National Running Show commented: “It was fantastic to see so many runners coming together to enjoy such an incredible line-up of speakers, top brand exhibitors and a brilliant variety of features. Thank you to every single person who came to the show and wherever you are on your running journey we hope that you went home informed and inspired. We can’t wait to see you again at the Run Show South at Farnborough International in May 2022.”

The next instalment in the National Running Show portfolio will take place at Farnborough International 7-8 May 2022. Headline speakers include Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Shakira Akabusi and Lazarus Lake. Tickets cost £10 and can be registered at https://nationalrunningshowsouth.seetickets.com/tour/the-national-running-show-south

Raccoon Media Group, organisers of the multi award-winning National Running Show, National Outdoor Expo, National Cycling Show and National Snow Show portfolio, alongside the Digital Outside & Active platform, has taken home two prestigious awards at the AEO Centenary Party Awards 2021 for Best Lockdown Initiative and the Best Consumer Show Activation.

The National Running Show’s Indoor Relay was a non-stop 24-7 indoor running relay and ran for 28 days – 682 hours featuring 452 runners, 16 running captains. The relay was streamed LIVE online 24 hours a day through a dedicated website to engage a wide range of runners to run for an hour from their homes/gardens for charity. After raising £43,337 for charities heavily impacted by COVID-19, smashing an original target of £10,000, the Indoor Relay signified the power of community and togetherness despite the lack of face-to-face events.

The Indoor Relay capped its phenomenal success by being awarded Best Lockdown Initiative at the AEO’s 100^th Awards event.

Mike Seaman, CEO at Raccoon Media Group commented: “This was a fantastic initiative and something I was very proud to have been a part of. The National Running Show team worked so hard and did a phenomenal job, but the whole project was reliant on support from the community and companies that donated their time and money. The team captains were amazing and deserve a massive thank you, as do Darren from Vatu Website Design, Raoul from Flume Sales Training and the hundreds of people that gave up their time to run with us. Lockdown was a difficult time, and this project gave us something positive to focus on, that delivered meaningful change and made a helped a lot of people. I was blown away by the generosity of the running community and the outcome exceeded our wildest expectations.”

Raccoon’s already successful night was capped off by being awarded Best Consumer Show Activation for the Digital Outside & Active Festival, which welcomed 86,000 attendees globally across 8 days of how-to workshops, beginner 101s and community sessions focussing on the outdoor industry. The digital festival – which was the first Outside & Active initiative – brought the community together, encouraged them to ‘bring a friend’ and rode out the end of the third lockdown together. The Festival also provided informative and motivational content from famous faces including Ben Fogle, Roger Black, Anna McNuff, Susie Chan, Sean Conway and many more.

Matt Coyne, head of the Outside & Active platform commented: “Matt Coyne, head of the Outside & Active platform commented: “The overwhelming success of the Digital Festival exhibits the exciting potential that our Outside & Active platform possesses. During a period where outdoor lovers were unable to get their fix, we were able to produce an experience for this community, inspiring them to lead healthy, active and outdoor lifestyles. We have even more exciting developments to the platform over the next 18 months including the recent launch of its ecommerce solution and the launch of our brand new podcast in January.”

Raccoon looks forward to delivering 9 consumer shows next year spread across two continents, in a world which is excited for the return of face-to-face consumer events. These awards capture the essence of the Raccoon Media Group portfolio, bringing a community together to achieve the unachievable.