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Steam fair axed for 2025 after no buyer found

Getty Images Six steam engines travelling up and down a hill across a field towards the camera with crowds seen to the leftGetty Images
Organisers say the fair has not found anyone to take it on despite being for sale for over a year

The Great Dorset Steam fair will not go ahead for a third year running after failing to find a buyer.

The event usually takes place on a 600-acre showground at Tarrant Hinton, near Blandford Forum, over the August bank holiday weekend.

It has been halted since 2023 due to escalating costs and was put up for sale a year ago.

Organisers said it "remains unviable for us to run it again ourselves", with an estimated cost of putting on the fair put at £5m.

Getty Images Long line of steam engines with black smoke billowing into the sky they are black , some with red painted spokes on their wheels a person leans against the wheel of the first engineGetty Images
The five-day show celebrates industrial and agricultural heritage

The event's managing director Martin Oliver said: "It's a great shame but we have been unable to find a way forward.

"We had hoped someone would be willing to take it on after being up for sale for over a year but sadly we have been unable to find a committed buyer willing to take the financial risk of staging this enormous event."

The five-day fair, started more than 50 years ago, regularly attracted up to 200,000 visitors.

It was cancelled in 2020 for the first time in its history due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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