Gloucester Goes Retro to welcome thousands to city streets

A vintage car, fashion and music festival is welcoming thousands of visitors to the streets of Gloucester.

Gloucester Goes Retro will feature more than 400 classic vehicles, from motorbikes to buses and military tanks to boats on Saturday.

The eighth annual festival will also showcase street entertainment, themed from the 1900s through to the 1990s.

Local businesses, shops and restaurants are set to join in with displays and staff in vintage dress.

The free event, which begins at 10:00 BST, is organised and funded by Gloucester City Council in partnership with the Gloucester Business Improvement District. 

The festival was founded by Colin Organ, a long-standing Conservative councillor for Tuffley and former mayor of Gloucester, who died in August 2022.

His passion for classic cars led him to create the event which has become one of the most popular in the city.

Among the cars on show will be a replica of the Ghostbusters car, ECTO-1, alongside a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, made famous by the film series.

Live music and entertainment, including swing, disco and break dancing, will fill Kings Square and Gloucester Docks.

Kings Square will feature retro games, activities, food and vintage stalls, while the main stage in the docks will be hosted by Gloucester Swing Dance, and feature bands such as The Number Rackets and Swing Commanders.

Councillor Andrew Lewis, cabinet member for culture and leisure at Gloucester City Council, said: "We are incredibly excited to have Retro back in the city again.

"It's a huge event for the city, where we welcome tens of thousands of visitors, and we cannot wait to see you all dressed in your finest costume of choice."

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