The largest bridal trade show in the UK is set to return to Harrogate for the next four years, in a move that is estimated to be worth £1.2million to the local economy.

Bridal Week will take over Harrogate Convention Centre for three days in September every year, bringing more than 4,000 visitors to the town to browse 350 collections from designers across the world.

The show has been based in Harrogate for 35 years and has grown to be the biggest in the UK.

Wendy Adams, director of Bridal Week at Ocean Media, said:

“Harrogate truly is a market leader. The event combines business and pleasure, and each year the industry takes over the town presenting the largest collection of bridal gowns in northern Europe.

“I go to bridal shows all over the world in Chicago, New York, Milan, Barcelona, Dusseldorf – and they’ve all heard of Harrogate, because of the show.”

The announcement of the four-year contract is a huge boost for Harrogate bridal businesses still recouping losses from the pandemic. The event is estimated to bring an economic impact of around £1.2 million to the local economy over the next four years.

This year’s show will take place between September 11 and 13.

Ms Adams said the central town location set Harrogate apart from its competitors. She said clients could easily head into town in the evening whereas other venues were based on the fringes of cities.

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It’s set to be a bumper year for the wedding industry with many couples eager to tie the knot after delaying during the pandemic.

The convention centre redeployed as an NHS Nightingale Hospital for a year during the pandemic but didn’t treat a single covid patient.

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, said:

“It’s tremendous news that this stalwart exhibition is so firmly embedded with our venue for years to come, and that there’s such a strong bounce back for exhibitions and live events.

“The financial impact on our hotels, bars, restaurants and retail businesses is significant after the tourist season ends in summer.”

Harrogate Bridal Show has been postponed until next year because of coronavirus.

The event was initially scheduled to take place this month at Harrogate Convention Centre.

But with the centre being used as a Nightingale hospital, the show was moved to the Yorkshire Event Centre from October 4-6.

But it was announced this week the event had been postponed until September 2021.

The event’s website says:

“It is with great regret to inform you all that the 2020 edition of the Harrogate Bridal Show, due to take place on 4-6 October, has been postponed to 2021. We were excited to re-unite the bridal community in the home of bridal this year, however in light of recent developments, we no longer feel comfortable running the event this year.”

“Retailers will be able to browse collections in full from the biggest names in bridal. Like a trade show, you will be able to move between showrooms to compare gowns, see the dresses move on models (through pre-recorded videos) and connect suppliers.”

Harrogate’s Yorkshire Event Centre has calculated the huge impact its cancelled events have had on the local economy.

To date, 148 events have been cancelled or postponed at the Yorkshire Event Centre and Pavilions of Harrogate, both owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. The total cost of struck-off events has cost the Centre nearly £6 million, but the total cost to the Harrogate economy is much higher.

Cafés, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, hotels and other local businesses have all struggled as a result.

Heather Parry, Managing Director of Yorkshire Event Centre Ltd, said:

“This is a challenging year for events businesses and it is no different for us at the Great Yorkshire Showground. Last year, businesses and events at the Showground were worth £73.7 million to the local economy.”

The calculation comes days after the Harrogate Convention Centre, home of the Nightingale Hospital, announced it will remain closed until March next year.

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The Yorkshire Event Centre sits in the Great Yorkshire Showground. The venue is home to some of the country’s biggest shows including The Great Yorkshire Show itself, which welcomes more than 130,000 visitors to the Harrogate district.

Bev Kemp, owner of The Bijou in Harrogate said:

“We rely very highly on events for tourism, a heck of a lot. We have lost the biggest conferences this year and I don’t know if we’re going to get them back. From March when lockdown started I would say at least 60% of our bookings have been cancelled, possibly more. We always get lots of people for the Great Yorkshire Show so that’s a huge loss. I am worried about hospitality on the whole in Harrogate. I think it’s going to take a few years to pick up.”

But, Ms Parry remains positive with future events coming to the showground. The Harrogate Bridal Show, the UK’s largest and longest running bridal event, has still been given the go-ahead in October.

Ms Parry said:

“We have taken robust steps to ensure that we can provide a safe, secure and flexible space to host events, in line with the latest government advice on social gatherings. As such, we have worked closely with the organisers of the Harrogate Bridal Show to meet their requirements.

The Harrogate Bridal Show is expected to run at the Yorkshire Event Centre from October 4 – 6.