The Fairford Steam Show 2026 team have been super busy organising another fabulous event for the weekend of Saturday and Sunday August 15 and 16 together with the ever-popular Steam-in-the-Square event on Friday August 14 from 5pm in Fairford Market Place.
Now, with sad demise of the Royal International Air Tattoo, the Fairford Steam Show 2026 promises to be the biggest event taking place in Fairford this year!
To mark the event, the Show organisers are thrilled to reveal that there will be three celebrity vehicles at the much-loved event that returned in 2021 after a nearly 10-year absence.
Lovers of the late 1970s and early 1980s American television series, ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, will remember ‘The General Lee’! This famous car – straight off the film set – is an orange 1969 Dodge Charger driven by Bo and Luke Duke and named after Robert E Lee, general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It bears a Confederate battle flag on its roof and also has a horn that plays the first 12 notes of the song ‘Dixie’. It is known for its police chases, stunts and for having its doors welded shut, leaving the Duke boys to climb in and out of the car through the windows!
For football fans, the Fairford Steam Show can offer you the chance to take a close-up look at the 1983 red Ferrari 308, originally owned by Liverpool Football Club and bearing the iconic registration number 308 LFC! During the early 1980s, Liverpool FC was an unstoppable force, securing multiple First Division titles, League Cups and the European Cup.
This specific Ferrari 308 is one of the most recognizable and highly prized sports cars of the 1980s. Powered by a transversely mounted 2.9-litre V8 engine, it produced roughly 240 horsepower and featured a classic gated manual 5-speed transmission.
Last but in no way least, is the Volvo truck that was used by ‘The Who’ in the 1970s. The specific model used by the rock band was the iconic heavy-duty Volvo F88 290 that was highly prized by ‘The Who’ and other touring acts – such as Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush – for its reliability, power and comfort on long-haul European routes. It is now fully restored and makes only occasional appearances at vintage commercial vehicle events. If this vehicle could talk, it would certainly have a story to tell!
There are lots of exciting new exhibits attending this year as well as lots of steam, classic and retro vehicles from previous years, and the hop-on-hop-off bus to and from Fairford will get you to the Show in style – thanks to Ellisons Coaches.
The Bull Hotel’s inside bar will be open Friday night, as well as an outside bar in the Market Place where you can order drinks and food and – new for this year – real ale on tap! For the weekend, Fairford Cricket Club will once again be running their well-stocked and affordable bar on site in the Show’s Beer Tent.
To book your tickets or find out more about this popular annual community event, please visit:
https://fairfordsteamshow.co.uk/
Article by Chris Roberts MBE PR
