Goodwood Festival of Speed confirmed as test event — all ticketholders can attend

Motorsport News

This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed has joined the Event Research Programme, allowing it to go ahead with a large capacity crowd

Goodwood Festival of Speed burnout

Goodwoof FoS has gone from 100 cars and a humble Aston in front of the house to something much bigger

Drew Gibson

All ticketholders will be able to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month after it was confirmed as part of the government’s Events Research Programme.

Its status as a pilot event will allow it to increase capacity beyond current limits but attendees will need to have been vaccinated or have returned a negative Covid test result before being allowed in.

Goodwood is now pressing ahead with its plans to honour motor racing’s great all-rounders, along with its familiar programme that includes F1 cars and current drivers; the hillclimb Shootout and a central feature which this year celebrates Lotus.

“We are continuing to expand the Events Research Programme’s remit to include more of our iconic cultural and sporting events and the Goodwood Festival of Speed will now return for the first time since the pandemic broke,” said Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston.

“Festival goers will now be able to enjoy the raw horsepower of Goodwood’s legendary offerings up close thanks to our tremendous vaccine rollout and the increasingly popular use of the NHS App to prove your Covid status.”

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After being cancelled in 2020, this year’s Festival of Speed was on course to go ahead with limited restrictions when the government announced its plan to ease lockdown measures on June 21.

But that date was pushed back as the spread of the Delta variant became apparent, beyond the 8-11 July dates of the Goodwood event. Existing rules limit outdoor venues to a maximum of 10,000 attendees.

It has been in discussion with the government for several days with the aim of joining the Events Research Programme, which gathers evidence into how large venues can be reopened safely.

Pilot events already included Euro 2020 matches and the British Grand Prix, and have now been joined by the Festival of Speed.

All tickets that have been sold, including hospitality and grandstand passes remain valid, and there are still some spaces available on the opening day, Thursday 8 July. The rest of the Festival is sold out.

Attendees will either have to have had both doses of the vaccine at least 14 days before the event, or proof of a negative Lateral Flow Test, which can be taken at home or at a recognised centre free of charge, within 48 hours of the event.

Goodwood said that it would be in touch with all ticketholders in the coming days with further information.