London: the sixth edition of Vespa World Days ready to go

Jun 12 2012 17:34
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The world’s most famous scooter pays tribute to the Olympic city, from 14 to 17 June, with the sixth international Vespa Club rally.

More than two thousand Vespa scooters from every decade have already been registered, with members from 87 Italian clubs and 117 clubs from all over the world. Vespa World Days 2012 in London will welcome Vespa enthusiasts from five continents.

Information online on  www.vespaworlddays.com, www.vespaworldclub.com and www.vespatrophy.comfacebook.com/vespa, twitter.com/vespa_official

 

Milan, 12 June 2012 – There are already more than two thousand Vespa devotees from 24 countries preparing to take part in the Vespa World Days rally in London from 14 to 17 June. In the year of the Olympic Games, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth and sixty years from the creation of the UK’s first Vespa Club, Vespa is paying tribute to London in the outdoor area of The O2, the former Millennium Dome, the venue for the 2012 edition of the annual world rally of Vespa Clubs.

Naturally, far larger numbers of Vespa devotees will turn up than the thousands who have already registered for the event. Britain boasts one of the strongest Vespa cultures. London first adopted the Italian scooter as a symbol back in the early 1950s, linking it to youth movements like the Mods, with the Rock ‘n Roll and R&B sounds from the other side of the Atlantic providing a backing track.

After the 2011 event held in Gjøvik, Norway, this year for four days the Vespa Village is setting up in Greenwich, south-east London, one of the most attractive areas on the Thames.

Once again the top event in the program will be the award presentation ceremony to the winners of the Vespa Trophy, the competition among Vespa devotees, all fully paid-up Vespa Club members, who document all the stages in their journey to London with photos and special stamps in their Travel Books.

The tourist trophy organised in honour of the Vespa scooter involves more than 2,000 Piaggio Group dealers, in 25 countries. All Vespa Clubs can take part: the goal is to reach London by 14 June, passing through the largest possible number of Piaggio Check Points and with the greatest possible number of Vespas.

The website www.vespatrophy.com provides full information and the Travel Book, an essential requirement for the Vespa rider to record the identification data of his or her Vespa Club and the points collected during stopovers at the Piaggio Check Points. In addition to guided tours in London, organised with local relays, events will include the traditional gala dinner for all registered riders and, on Friday 15 June, the World Congress of Vespa Clubs.

For years, Vespa World Days has been celebrating the timeless myth of the Vespa.

A scooter that has moved beyond its function as a stylish, easy-to-drive vehicle for the daily commute to become a global brand loved by whole generations of users.

The Vespa and the devotion of its fans began virtually at the same time, with many Vespa owners forming associations as early as 1946, the year when the world’s most famous scooter made its debut: the first Vespa Clubs were formed, first in Italy, later abroad. Today, there are 40 National Vespa Clubs in the Vespa World Club, more than 780 registered local Vespa Clubs, over 40,000 members around the world. In Italy alone, more than 100 rallies were held for Vespa enthusiasts last year.

Vespa is a unique chapter in the history of mobility and lifestyle: produced without interruption for 66 years, it has notched up sales of more than seventeen million scooters. And it continues to evolve. The latest examples are the new Vespa LX and Vespa S presented a few days ago, two models combining all the Vespa values – freedom, good looks, accessibility – with new standards for fuel efficiency, low emissions and outstanding performance. Thanks to the new 3V 125 and 150 cc engines, the Vespa provides mileage of 55 km/l with a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions.

The rally program and latest news are available on the official Vespa World Days sites: www.vespaworlddays.com, the official site of the Vespa World Club www.vespaworldclub.com and, for the 2012 Vespa Trophy, www.vespatrophy.com. On the official social media, Vespa World Days is on facebook.com/vespa and can be followed on twitter.com/vespa_official or with the hashtag #vwd2012.

 

 

For more information:

Piaggio Group Press Office

Via Broletto, 13

20121 Milan – Italy

+39 02 02.319612.15/16/17/18

press@piaggio.com

www.piaggiogroup.com


Vespa World Days:

The O2, Edmund Halley Way, North Greenwich, London, SE10 0AX.

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