We are excited to announce that the 2020 Bay to Birdwood – one of the world’s great historic motoring events – will take place as planned on Sunday 27 September.
The go-ahead for the event has been dependent on SA Health approving our COVID Management Plan – a document that outlines the many safeguards we are putting in place to make sure that the event can proceed in a COVIDSafe manner.
While we are pleased to be going ahead, there are some modifications that have to be made. These changes will protect the safety of our event team, participants and the wider SA community, and means that the 2020 Bay to Birdwood is going to be a very unique event.
While some popular elements of the event will not be able to take place this year, we feel that we have managed to hold onto the essence of one of the world’s great historic motoring events and in some respects added some exciting aspects.
THE PARADE OF HISTORIC MOTORING
The event will run along the 72km route as usual (route map available here), however the start and finish sites will not be open to members of the public this year. Only participants, their vehicle passengers, event staff and pre-approved media/authorised persons will be allowed on site.
Keeping everyone safe is important to us and so the event will start earlier than normal with the classics departing from 7.30am followed by veteran and vintage vehicles departing later. Please note that the usual community breakfast and coffees will not be available this year so we recommend you bring your own refreshments.
THE AWARDS
The Concours d’Elegance and Preservation awards will be judged on Saturday 26 September with the announcement of the award finalists made online in the afternoon on Sunday. The presentation of the awards to the four winners will take place on the morning of Monday 28 September in a special ceremony kindly presided over by His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le, Governor of South Australia and Mrs Le on the lawns of Government House.
WATCH FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
We are celebrating the 40th anniversary in a unique way this year by giving the Bay to Birdwood the widest audience it has ever had – and providing a COVIDSafe alternative to gathering en masse along the route. In partnership with generous media partners, we will be streaming live the parade of historic motoring with the live-stream accessible from anywhere in the world via our digital platforms. The judging and presentation of the awards will also be available online.
INTERSTATE PARTICIPATION
Sadly this year we are likely to see the lowest participation from outside of South Australia in the event’s history. We do hope that when we return to better times we will be once again presenting historic motoring vehicles from all jurisdictions throughout Australia. If you are unable to travel, we are thinking of you and wish you and yours well.
Travel restrictions remain in place for entry into South Australia. Conditions can change and we ask that you check the SA Health Travel Restrictions website as well as your own jurisdiction’s travel advice for the latest information.
ENTRANT WITHDRAWALS
A reminder that if you wish to withdraw your entry, please do so by Friday 28 August to be eligible for a full refund. Use this link to withdraw from the event, or contact us for more details.
YOUR SAFETY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY
As one of the first major events to take place in South Australia this side of the COVID19 outbreak, we know we have a big responsibility to deliver a safe event. Over the next few weeks you will receive more emails outlining the steps we all need to take to keep COVIDSafe.
While it’s not the 40th anniversary celebration we were hoping for, we’re still very excited to be able to offer a modified celebration. We did want it to be special, but we never anticipated it would be special in the way it is. It’s definitely going to be a 40th to remember!
MORE INFORMATION
As we continue to plan for our 27 September event, we will keep you informed along the way with regular updates. In the meantime, please follow us on Facebook and visit the Bay to Birdwood website or email us at BaytoBirdwood@history.sa.gov.au and read our FAQs for more information.
The Bay to Birdwood Team
