A sporting summer
Europe comes alive during the summer months. As the sun comes out, the beginning of an unofficial festival of the outdoors begins, with al fresco everything – from music festivals and beach parties to important sporting fixtures. The football season may have ended, but there are plenty of glamorous sporting events close to the Villages, which attract millions from far and wide, and will no doubt appeal to your travel companion if sport, and not shopping, is their distraction of choice.
One of the world’s most popular sporting fixtures, Formula 1, comes to Europe every summer in a flash-dash circus display at 200 miles an hour. Only 24 of the world’s top drivers participate each season and this elitism makes the event big business, attracting some serious household names trackside, from Jennifer Lopez to Mick Jagger. Their presence also highlights the broadening of the sport’s appeal in recent years. Race attendees are no longer a small minority of car enthusiasts – spectators at the European Grand Prix in Valencia (24 June), the British Grand Prix at Silverstone (8 July) and the German Grand Prix at The Nürburgring (22 July) will come from all around, looking to soak up the atmosphere of glamour, champagne and diesel fumes, a heady mixture that only the Grand Prix can provide. Like a day out at the horse races, just a lot quicker and a lot louder, it’s well worth the trip.
Slightly more sedate, the world-famous, century-old cycling race that is the Tour de France starts on 2 July. The tour takes in the rich and varied geography of France as riders stream through quiet towns and villages, across stunning countryside and crawl up the steep slopes of the Pyrenees and the Alps before the final stage in Paris, which concludes along the Champs-Élysées on 24 July. It is arguably one of the toughest endurance races on the planet, covering more than 2,200 miles over three weeks. With La Vallée Village a short ride away from Paris city centre, shoppers can easily pop down to the Champs-Élysées and grab a seat on a grandstand by the Grand Palais to cheer the riders home.
Close to Bicester Village in the UK is Henley-on-Thames, the site of the annual Royal Regatta. Rowing teams from around the world will compete over the five days between 29 June and 3 July, and spectators can expect a variation of the pomp and circumstance on display during the Royal Wedding. All clichés, from glasses of Pimm’s, strawberries and cream, and boating jackets, to the occasional summer rain shower, are to be expected. The regatta has taken place every year since 1839, except during the two World Wars, and continues to be as much a society gathering as a sporting event, in that typically English fashion.
Elsewhere in Europe, a huge variety of sporting events take place throughout the summer. Barcelona hosts the Conde de Godó Trophy sailing regatta – part of the prestigious Audi MedCup – in September, and the best athletes in the world race each other in Brussels in the same month, at the final Diamond League meet of the summer.
All in all, it’s a season to look forward to for sports fans – and if an imminent fix is needed, shoppers visiting Maasmechelen Village over the weekend of 25–26 June are a short distance away from the glamorous Scapa Sports Trophy held in Antwerp, which like most polo tournaments will be a mix of high excitement and high fashion.
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08-06-2011
