Hanover, 9 October 2007. An official event to celebrate 60 years of Volkswagen vans held in Hanover, Germany, last weekend (5-7 October) attracted 71,000 visitors with a selection of over 5,000 Transporter vans and camper vans – from the original ‘split-screen’ T1 to today’s fifth-generation models – and included the highlight of an exclusive concert by British rock legends, The Who.
Volkswagen van fans travelled from as far away as Australia, Portugal, Russia, The Ukraine, Denmark, Poland, the UK, France and Holland. They came in Volkswagen vans from every decade since the 1950s and when gathered, covered a total area of 255,000 square metres – the equivalent of around 35 football pitches.
The celebrations started with a special convoy through Hanover from the Volkswagen factory to the showground hosting the event where there was a covered stage to honour vehicles nominated for special prizes, plus a display of 100 historic and unusual models and exhibits from the Volkswagen museum, including the original design sketch from 1947.
The weekend generated some impressive figures: 11,500 visitors camped overnight in 3,724 Volkswagen vans, while 6,000 German sausages and 100 barrels of beer were consumed at the food stalls.
The exclusive, open-air concert by The Who on Saturday night was enjoyed by 44,000 people. They were pleased to hear that Pete Townshend owns a Volkswagen van and particularly enjoyed the performance of the song ‘Magic Bus’ which was played against a backdrop of footage of the iconic ‘split-screen’ Volkswagen Transporter from the 1950s.
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Notes to editors: Electronic images are available to accompany this release from www.volkswagenpressoffice.co.uk or Newspress. A wider selection can be found by visiting www.vwn-presse.de and entering username: nfz006; password: vwn300.
About Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles:
The Volkswagen Transporter van is an icon and over 10 million have been produced. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles range now includes the Caddy, Transporter and Crafter van ranges, plus the Caravelle MPV and California campervan, all available from its dedicated, nationwide network of Van Centres in the UK. For full information, or to find your nearest retailer, go to www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk.