Bulldog Bash
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| Location(s) | Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, England |
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| Years active | 1987 – present |
| Founded by | Hells Angels |
| Date(s) | Annually in August |
| Genre | Motorcycle Festival & Rock music |
| Website | Bulldog Bash |
The Bulldog Bash is considered to be one of Europe's most popular, annual, motorcycle festivals with a reported attendance of 50,000 people in 2007. It takes place over a weekend in mid-August, at the Shakespeare County Raceway, which is situated outside Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
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[edit] History
The event started as a small gathering organised by the Hells Angels motorcycle club for bikers. Since 1987, the event has grown to one of the largest motorcycle festivals in Europe, with a record 50,000 people reported to have attended in 2007.
It is believed that the popularity of the event is due to the organisers' philosophy of hosting a festival that meets all the criteria of their own 'perfect party', organised by bikers, for bikers.
The festival has been hosted at the Shakespeare County Raceway in Stratford-on-Avon in England since 1987, and always takes place in mid August. Since its inception, it has followed largely the same format (though expanded for larger crowds and more recently included bigger name bands): providing entertainment aimed at the motorcycle riding fraternity, including live rock music, beer tents, motorcycle racing, drag racing & stunt riding demonstrations. Adult entertainment traditionally features high on the bill, including Wet T-shirt contest, erotic dance shows and topless bike wash.
The event currently runs over four days, gates opening on Thursday, and running through Friday and Saturday and wrapping up on Sunday.
The USA equivalents on a much larger scale are Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Daytona Beach Bike Week.
[edit] Security and crime
Despite the general public's association of violence and crime with the Hells Angels, the Bulldog Bash has a consistent record of causing the Warwickshire Police little trouble, compared to other events of this scale.
There are no police patrolling the site (though they have a small base just off site), no personal searches conducted by police - the Hells Angels maintain security inside the festival grounds themselves.
Inspector Dave Patterson from the Warwickshire Police is quoted to have said about the 2006 event: "There was just four crimes reported on site and only three arrests during the four day event. Although traffic to and from the Long Marston site was greater than normal, the traffic plan worked well."[1]
The four crimes recorded on the Police Media Portal were all theft related.
- Bulldog Bash 2007
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[edit] References
- ^ Houlder, Di."Bulldog Bash - Police Overview" The Police Media Portal
[edit] Further reading
- "Warwickshire Police have pledged to continue trying to stop an annual event organised by the Hells Angels, despite it passing off peacefully.", BBC 10 August 2009
- "Police apply for Bulldog review", BBC 25 June 2009
- "Police in Bulldog Bash objection". BBC 30 April 2008
- Malone, Andrew."Topless bike washes and the dark hearts of the Hell's Angels cult". Daily Mail 14 August 2007.
- Newbigging, Chris "Full highlights from Bulldog Bash". MCN August 2007.
- Langley, Tess "Bulldog Bash revs up". BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Features
- Sturcke, James "The ordinary lives of Hells Angels' bikers". The Guardian 13 August 2007
- Harkness, Timandra "Angels". The Telegraph 4 September 2004
- BBC. "Music and machines at the bash", BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Features
- King, Rich. "Bulldog Bash 2003", American-V, August 2003.
- Rainey, Joy. "Grab some leathers and 'run what ya brung'". The Telegraph 20 October 2002
- King, Rich. "Bulldog Bash 2002", American-V, August 2002.
