Birmingham, England: The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has confirmed that its first Festival of Turf will take place this summer, with a new date intended to provide an improved experience for attendees and exhibitors.

The Festival of Turf is a two-day event (July 21-22) that will take place in the predominantly outdoor setting of the Warwickshire Event Centre and will bring together golf greenkeepers, groundsmen and many others for the first time since BTME 2020, more than 18 months ago.

BIGGA had initially announced a June date for the Festival of Turf and was confident the event could be hosted with Covid-safety measures in place.

But with Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announcing the roadmap out of lockdown, BIGGA has explored the opportunity of rescheduling the Festival of Turf for later in the summer, when social distancing restrictions are anticipated to have been removed.

The Festival of Turf will welcome BIGGA members and others in the turf industry to the 30-acre Warwickshire Event Centre, with a wide range of vendors and trade stalls and entertaining twists that bring to life the ‘festival’ element of the event.

Covid-safety measures will remain in place, such as enhanced cleaning regimes and hand sanitising, plus any other requirements as defined by Government guidelines. However, limits on visitor numbers and social distancing measures will no longer be required.

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “The roadmap out of lockdown announced by the Prime Minister provided incredibly welcome news for the country and the association’s members, not least because it provided a date for the reopening of golf courses in England and a potential return to normality for us all.

“It also presented an opportunity for BIGGA to host the Festival of Turf as the spectacular of sports and amenity turf maintenance that we had hoped for when we first announced this event last year.

“Although the published roadmap only serves as a guideline and the timings are subject to change, everyone at BIGGA is excited about the opportunity to provide an improved exhibition experience for our attendees.

“We always intended the Festival of Turf to be an opportunity for BIGGA members and their colleagues in the turf industry to reunite after so long apart and I’m delighted that these new dates will allow even more people to attend what promises to be a fantastic few days of exhibitions and entertainment.”