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This ultimate events calendar enumerates major automotive events in Europe and become a tradition at Egzostive. This list was a fairy straightforward exercise until 2020, but the pandemic rewrote every script. With the passing of the pandemic, we now look forward to complete seasons and 2024 looks to be quite a good one. Geneva returned after several years of hiatus, while the Brussels Car Show received a new organiser.
Most events started with the usual dates, with very little conflicts, despite a pretty dense calendar. Quantity is certainly there, lets see if the shows deliver this year…
The European automotive events calendar 2024
Autosport International – (11-14 January) – Birmingham, UK – Official website
InterClassics Classic Car Show Maastricht – 11-14 January, Maastricht, the Netherlands – Official website
The InterClassics Maastricht is a well-established classic car event of the Benelux region. With some changes on the website, the event acquired the name Classic Car Show Maastricht
It is usually one of the first car events on the calendar, and the central theme of this year’s event is 120 years of Ford Performance.
International Racingshow – 13-14 January, Kortrijk, Belgium – Official website
This show was a new item on our bucket list, but definitely raised our interest. The show presented an impressive selection of classic race cars, and we would definitely like to attend again next year.
The International Racing Show was a great way to kickstart the 2024 car show season
Brussels Auto Show – (17-21 January) – Brussels, Belgium – Official website
This Brussels Motor Show is one of the best international car shows in Europe. Last year, it was a massive success. We were very surprised that the organiser FEBIAC dropped the ball and announced the cancellation for this year. Belgium shows an immense affection to cars, and the show is an essential part of the highly lucrative Belgian new car market with its special sales offers.
It was therefore no surprise that somebody picked up that ball, and a new organiser team is responsible for the 2024 edition.
GP Ice Race – 27 January, Zell am See, Austria – Official website
New website and new design, the 2023 edition was however cancelled due to warm weather.
Festival Automobile International – (CANCELLED), Paris, France – Official website
This event usually anticipates the Retromobile, one of the best classic car shows in the world. A date is not yet available, so it might get cancelled, as last year.
Retromobile – 31 January – 4 February, – Paris, France – Official website
We usually refer the Retromobile exhibition as the queen of classic car events. There is always a room to claim to be the largest classic car event, but the sheer quality of Retromobile is what puts it on our A-list. It is not a question that this event is the arena of the real players, where the major classic car collectors face off and chase the world record of auctions.
Aspiring events and major national museum rent space at the vent just to put themselves to the map (the early timing of the event also helps).
The 2020 event was truly great, probably the last show unaffected by the Pandemic. The 2023 edition proved to be great again, returning to its old setting with the largest main hall and several auxiliary halls accounting for larger exhibition area than the year before but we had to miss it due to conflicting programmes. The 2024 event seems followed the 2023 tradition and also the two counter events (the auctions organised by Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s) took place at the same weekend. Retromobile 2024 had all the right ingredients to be a great show, and we think it might be the best show of the year.
Paris Auction Week – the auctions of Artcurial , Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s (listed strictly in alphabetical order).
These Auctions usually take place during the week of Rétromobile. In 2020, we still managed to see all three: Artcurial is the show’s official auctioneer, while Bonhams and Sotheby’s bunk is in the city centre. Each auction is a car show in its own right. The webpage of the auctions (with complete catalogue) are linked in the title.
These auctions coincided , RM Sotherby’s Paris action took place on 30-31 January-1 February, while Bonhams followed on 1 February concluding with Artcurial.
Bremen Classic Motorshow, 2-4 February, Bremen, Germany – Official Website
Flanders Collection Cars, 16-18 February, Ghent, Belgium – Official Website
Geneva Motor Show, 26 February – 3 March, Geneva, Switzerland – Official website
After the fiasco with COVID (very last minute cancellation) and the following disputes between the organisers and the authorities, the “Geneva Car Show” went on a world tour, as the organisers devoted their attention to a shows organised in Qatar. In 2024 however, the Geneva Motor Show is set to happen in Geneva to celebrate the 100th edition of Europe’s prestigious international car show.
The ICE, 24-25 February, St Moritz, Switzerland – Official website
Automotoretrò, 2-3 March, Parma, Italy- Official Website
Amsterdam Motor Show, 28 March -1 April, Amsterdam, Netherlands – Official website
I visited the AutoRAI in 2015, which left a lovely impression. However, it was discontinued, and a new car show event launched a few years ago. We keep this on our bucket list, though we are getting mixed impressions, including unresponsive organisers and postponements even in 2023.
Essen Techno Classica, 3-7 April, Essen, Germany – Official website
The Techno Classica is also one of the most important automotive events in the continent, which means pretty much the world. The exhibition claims to be the number 1 of classic car fairs, and this show also delivers.
During COVID, Techno Classica was cancelled, and upon its return in 2022, the show was a mere shadow of itself. There is a gradual return of manufacturers in 2023, and but unfortunately, none of them returned to Essen in 2024.
Flanders Collection Cars, 5-7 April, Antwerp, Belgium – Official website
This event is rather new, replacing the former Antwerp Classic at the same venue and with a similar timing.
Spa Summer Classic, 25-28 April, Spa, Belgium – Official website
This event is held annually at Spa-Francorchamps. Although Spa Summer Classics is not as clear-cut as the Spa Classic mentioned earlier, it is still worth visiting. The event combines the regional classic car series to race at this legendary circuit.
Retro Classics Stuttgart, 25-28 April , Stuttgart, Germany – Official Website
One of Europe’s flagship classic car events, but the specialty of the organisers is to find dates coinciding with other major events (the Techno Classica event series or the InterClassic series). The current schedule seems to work for everybody, lets hope the plans will work out fine. We attended in 2020, just before the pandemic. It was literally the last car show on earth, for about two years.
Oldtimer Messe Tulln, 4-5 May, Tulln, Austria – Official website
Klassikwelt Bodensee, 7-9 May, Fridriechshafen, Germany – Official website
Spa Classic, 17-19 May, Spa, Belgium – Official website
The Spa event is part of the classic racing series run by the French Peter Auto series.
While the flagship event is the bi-annual Le Mans Classics (that is not scheduled for this year), the roaring circus visits Spa every year, and so do we for the past few years.
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, 24-26 May, Cernobbio, Italy – Official website
The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is one of the most well-known beauty contests of historic cars. It is undoubtedly the most traditional event, held for the first time in 1929. Since its revival in the 1990s, the Concorso has developed into a benchmark of European Concours events.
Nürburgring Classics, 24-26 May, Nürburgring, Germany – Official website
1000 Miglia – 11-15 June, Brescia – Rome, Italy – Official website
Concours d’Elégance Suisse, 14-16 June, Chateau de Coppet, Switzerland, – Official website
The centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Spa, 26-30 June, Spa, Belgium- Official website
This year, Spa Francorchamps celebrates the 100th annversary of its 24 hours endurance race event, and brings on several racing series and some big names, like Jacky Ickx starting the race.
Spettacolo Sportivo, 29-30 June, Zandvoort, Netherlands – Official website
This event was on our wish list for the 110th anniversary of Alfa Romeo, but we still need to see it ourselves.
Goodwood Festival of Speed, 11-14 July, Goodwood, UK – Official website
London Motor & Tech Show – Date to be announced, London, UK – Official website
Eifel Rallye Festival, 15-17 August, Daun, Germany – Official website
Classic Days, 2-4 August (CANCELLED!), Düsseldorf, Germany – Official website
Another lesser-known event that promises a great program, and the reports confirmed that it’s a must-see. The core programme is a classic car meeting, that moved out of the usual lakeside castle to a park near Düsseldorf, becoming a major classic car jamboree. Unfortunately, the new site brought new challenges, and on 4 June, the organisers decided to withdraw from the event due to excessive red tape.
Oldtimer-Grand-Prix, 9-11 August, Nürburgring, Germany – Official website
It seems like a great event from the official photos, definitely worth a visit.
Silverstone Classics, 23-25 August, Silverstone, UK – Official website
One of the UK’s largest classic car events is held at the legendary Silverstone race track. Personally, I have been looking at Silverstone Classics for quite some time. Still, people out there drive on the wrong side of the street without even noticing! : ).
The photos on the website seem spectacular (and after a few classic car races, we can tell : ) ), both in terms of scenery and cars attending on and off track. Visitors get to see classic sports cars and race cars in their natural environment, i.e. on the race track.
Salon Privé, 29 August – 1 September, Blenheim Palace, UK – Official website
The Salon Privé might not be that well-known outside the UK, but the event has a distinctively classy and aristocratic flair, covering both classic and supercar shows.
Concours of Elegance, 30 August – 1 September, Hampton Court Palace, UK – Official website
An interesting concept to arrange a similar event to the same week not far away. This might actually work, as tourists can group the two occasions for a visit to the region (we certainly would, had there been no Brexit).
Antwerp Concours, 8 September, Antwerp, Belgium – Official website
This event was one of the best surprises of 2021, and last year, it did not fall much behind. The venue is a castle near Antwerp, and organisers deliver some 100 dream cars of all epochs.We were genuinely impressed by the 2021 event, and the 2022 was not much far behind. We also loved the 2023 edition.
Goodwood Revival, 6-8 September, Goodwood, UK – Official website
Another legendary event in a legendary site. In addition to the Festival of Speed, Revival is one of the events we would like to visit one day. Unfortunately, with Brexit, this is getting even more unlikely.
Concours d’Elegance de Chantilly – 12-15 September, Château de Chantilly, France – Official website
Chantilly is a high-end Concours d’elegance organised by Peter Auto. The photos we saw from the 2019 edition truly impressed, with the only downside of the extremely hot weather.
The September date will take care of the climate, and the show proved to be really impressive open air event.
Zoute Grand Prix, 3-6 October, Knokke-Heist, Belgium, – Official website
This excellent Concours d’elegance takes place in October by the Belgian coast. The event looks back to a decade of success with a continually growing audience growing beyond 250.000 visitors in 2018.
The Zoute Grand Prix comprises five events held throughout the four days at various locations: the Zoute Top Marques show (last year called Prado Zoute), the Zoute Rally, the Zoute Sale by Bonhams Auction, the Zoute Concours d’elegance and the closing Zoute GT Tour.
Some of these events are public, others might require additional investment. The 2019 event guaranteed a full day of activities with a comprehensive set of programmes. For us, this was the best car event of 2021, hands down. And the same thing happened to the 2022 event. Since 2023, Zoute GP did not feature a Concours d’Elegance, but it still proved to be one of the best car events of the year.
Rallye Legend – 10-13 October, San Marino, Italy – Official website
Paris Motor Show, 14 – 20 October 2022, Paris, France – Official website
The Paris Car Show is organised every even year, in the odd years the shift is taken over by the German International Automobile Exhibition IAA.
The Paris and the Frankfurt Car shows differ in many ways, the Paris Show is more compact, and aims to go beyond the automotive and mobility, with special exhibitions following a dedicated theme. This year’s show promises to be a really good one, with several brands returning and a thematic stage featuring movie cars.
Auto-moto d’epoca – 24-27 October, Bologna Italy – Official website
Interclassics Brussels, 15-17 November, Brussels, Belgium – Official website
The Interclassics Brussels is a relatively recent event, will be held for the eight time this year. However, the organisers are far from being beginners.
Their main event, the Interclassics Maastricht is the most important classic car event in the Netherlands with some three decades of history. Even as a newcomer, Interclassics Brussels quickly established itself, thanks to the region’s very active classic car culture.
The last few events were quite impressive. In 2019, I think it surpassed the Maastricht event, the 2021 InterClassics Brussels was one of the few major classic car events actually held. The 2002 edition was good as always, albeit limited to 3 halls. The 2023 edition was slightly larger, but its still not at the level of its prime. This year, the show offered largely the same spectacle as last year.
Milano AutoClassica, 15-17 November, Milano, Italy – Official website
Another event on our bucket list, as a stable candidate for a visit.
“The Flanders classic car triangle“
In parallel to the Essen Motor Show, the finest of Belgium was gathering in the area of West-Flanders, where three events took place during the same weekend: a show specialised on pre-war cars in Kortrijk, another exhibition with post-war cars in Waregem, while a classic rally was happening in the wider area of Ypres. This year however, the three events will be held separately over three consecutive weekends.
Ypres Historic Regularity Rallye, 22-24 November, Ypres, Belgium- Official website
The earliest date might serve this event best, as the 2023 edition was hit by a snowstorm, making rallying in prewar cars on diagonals quite tricky.
Classic-Event Waregem, 29 November – 1 December (CANCELLED), Waregem, Belgium – Official website
Classic Event Waregem worked well as an exhibition, with a well-laid out choreography. Even with its sister events, the Flemish Trio might not be a match the biggest car shows, but it did provide an unforgettable programme for the day. Sadly, the event has been cancelled for this year.
Prewar Days, 6-8 December, Kortrijk, Belgium – Official website
Prewar Days was on our bucket list for a long time. The event acquired quite a reputation in Belgium, as we encountered their delegations at various events like InterClasics and Antwerp Concours. Luckily we could finally attend last year.
Essen Motor Show, 30 November – 8 December, Essen, Germany – Official website
We like to summarise the Essen Motor Show as a European SEMA meets classic car show. It can not be compared to the international car shows, even if a few dealerships exhibit. For a full-blooded international car show, wait a few weeks and go to Brussels. But it’s safe to say that EMS will leave quite a few lasting memories on other fronts, with a clear aim to please everybody by offering everything on all fronts.
2018, I could witness VW’s electric Pikes Peak stormer ID R and Porsche’s 919 Nürburgring dominator, I watched the drift championship training session, I marvelled all forms of beauty and was paralysed by shock and awe in the taverns of tuning.
EMS is organised every year, and with an eventual cancellation of the Techno Classica, the EMS could step in as a backup plan. The 2021 event however could not come close to the Techno Classica, even if we could see quite a few spectacular cars. The 2022 event was a bit more reserved but surpassed ETC in our books, and 2023 saw another major car event.
