Friday 16th July 2021 – Following the announcement last night, we are very disappointed to have to confirm that The Big Lemon London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally, proudly sponsored by EDF, cannot go ahead this Sunday as planned due to the large increase in Covid cases in Brighton & Hove. Specifically, the Cabinet Office guidance says people should “minimise travel in and out of affected areas” and identifies Brighton & Hove as an affected area.
Following discussions with stakeholders throughout yesterday afternoon, evening, and this morning, we feel we have no option but to postpone the event and have confirmed Saturday 18th September 2021 as the new date.
Obviously, we are devastated, and we know how disappointed everyone will be with this news, but the safety of our staff, participants and the public is our highest priority.
The London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally was born out of a conversation between friends Bill Murray and Tom Druitt last autumn about The Big Lemon’s electric buses and how Tom wanted to do a London to Brighton event with the new electric buses that The Big Lemon had recently ordered. The conversation gathered pace, and after ten minutes the ‘event’ had become a full blown rally, with electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes, an education zone, exhibitions, music, entertainment, prizes and so on. Bill said, “Let’s do it” and so the journey began.
The inaugural event was planned for this Sunday, 18 July, and featured:
- live screen and commentary at the Finish Line
- displays of all the participants’ vehicles
- a Children’s Area, with an electric go-kart track
- an Education Zone, courtesy of Ifield College and Ardingly College
- stands from major players in electric vehicles and renewable energy, including The Big Lemon CIC, EDF, Fully Charged Show, RAC, R Symons, Zero motorcylces, Moto ebikes and NOVO Insurance
- 2 for 1 rides on the Volks Railway – the oldest working electric railway in the world
- special rides on a converted steam vehicle, and
- the opportunity to test drive a selection of electric vehicles on our Test Track, including a Big Lemon bus
A huge amount of work has gone into the preparations for Sunday, not just from us but from all our stakeholders and participants, and we are very sorry that we are having to take this action. We are however very much looking forward to welcoming you to an even better event on the 18th of September!
We wish all our partners, stakeholders, and participants an enjoyable summer; stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday 18 September.
Tom, Bill, Jo & Olivia, all the Team at The Big Lemon and our partners at EDF
