Nottingham’s Goose Fair event will take place in 2022 and it may be the biggest one to date.

After Covid-related cancellations in both 2020 and 2021, plans are underway to allow 2022’s Goose Fair to be a 10-day event to make up for the long absence.

Attracting nearly half a million people each year, Forest Recreation Ground has been quiet in the early Octobers since the last Goose Fair in 2019.

The Showman’s Guild and Nottingham Council have agreed preliminary plans to allow Goose Fair to take place between 30^th September and 9^th October 2022.

William Percival, chairman of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Showman’s Guild, said exclusively to Nottingham Post: “The showmen have agreed for Goose Fair for this year to be a ten-day fair mainly to spread the people out, offering them more days to come, as we are hoping there will be a lot of people. “We have agreed in principle. There’s still other bits and bobs we’re got to iron out with the council first before we sign the contract.

We haven’t got any issues at our end. Hopefully we’ll get Goose Fair back to what it was in 2019. That’s what we’ve asked for and to allow it to be run as it’s always run.

“It would be nice to have a bumper turn out. The fairs we did last year and are doing this year people seem to be attending so we’re hoping we’ll have a big attendance.”

Mr Percival added: “Many, many years ago it originally started as an eight-day fair going back to when it was in the Old Market Square but eventually it moved onto the Forest and it was only a three-day fair.

“Then we moved onto four days with the Wednesday and when the centenary year was on we extended it five days until the Sunday which proved a big success so we’ve continued with the five days ever since.”

Although the plans have been agreed to in principle, full confirmation has yet to have the go-ahead. A number of further checks must take place beforehand.

A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said to Nottingham Post: “We must undergo a process of assurance testing both within the council and with external partners to ensure the fair can be delivered safely and with the minimum of increased impact.”

They continued: “These assurances would be tested through the usual major event planning processes. We believe there is much to learn from staging a longer event, particularly this year, and this trial and these findings would be used to review options for the future.”

Councillor Eunice Campbell-Clark, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said to Nottingham Post: “After two years of cancellations, we are so glad to be able start planning for the 2022 fair and we are working collaboratively with the Guild to plan and ensure that any ten-day event can be a real success both for its members and Nottingham residents and visitors alike. We look forward to confirming more detailed plans in due course.”

The decision to push ahead with Goose Fair in 2022 follows heavy criticism for the alternative arrangements suggested for a 2021 event to take place.