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GCCG News

GCCG: 20 years old and still growing

The Gay Classic Car Group celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2008 - a scary thought for those of us who can remember going to its first events back in 1988 when a few gay classic car fans living in London thought that they would try having a small display at Gay Pride to see if there was any response. Since that time the Club has grown to over 600 members and partners. The introduction of online membership applications a couple of years ago together with active promotion in both the gay press and classic car publications has accelerated our rate of growth with last year seeing a 20% increase in membership in one year alone, a contrast to many single make clubs which are experiencing falling membership.

2009 has been a record breaking year for our events programme as well. With over 40 events organised there has been something every weekend for most of the summer season and beyond. One of the highlights of the year was a return to the National Exhibition Centre for the Classic Car Show where we had previously exhibited 2 years ago. This year we decided to splash out with a high profile stand based on a theme of the Yellow Brick Road, including Dorothy and friends, featuring an inflatable rainbow arch which could be seen throughout the exhibition hall. The eyecatching stand and wide range of vehicles attracted a diverse range of visitors, gaining us a number of new members and some great PR for the Club.

Our exhibition presence followed on from the success of 2008 when we hosted Eurotour, an annual gathering of gay classic car enthusiasts from all over the world. The venue for this event rotates between the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany and now, for the first time in 2009, Denmark. Since our turn to host Eurotour coincided with our 20th anniversary, we made a particularly big splash and attracted over 200 participants, which also made it the largest Eurotour ever held anywhere, with visitors from as far afield as the west coast of the US. The decision has just been taken to host the next UK Eurotour in 2013, which happily coincides with our 25th Anniversary thus affording another excuse for an even bigger party.

In 2010 GCCG will be holding even more events than ever before all over the UK, thanks to our strong team of regional organisers. with an event somewhere in the UK almost every weekend during the peak months. There are also several monthly social meetings around the country to keep us going through the winter too. Mind you, with our last event in November and the first one on New Year's Day, there's not much of a closed season.

We also have a growing online community with an active discussion forum launched last year where members swap news, advice and gossip, and we have recently added a facility for members to create an online profile.

We think there has never been a better time to join GCCG, but if you want to 'try before you buy' you can come to an event as our guest. Just contact your nearest Regional Organiser via the Local Contact page, or via mail@gccg.org.uk. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Postal Address: Gay Classic Car Group, BM Box 5901, London, WC1N 3XX email address:mail@gccg.org.uk