Date revealed for return of the Newport Nocturne
A date has been set for a cycle race which is returning for the first time since 2014.
The Newport Nocturne cycle race was cancelled in 2016 after a row meant that volunteers could not be taken on.
It was the first time the flood-lit biennial event had been put off since its introduction in 1989.
Speaking at Newport Town Council on Wednesday evening organisers Nick and Diane Jeggo revealed they are hoping to bring the event back on August 18.
Mr Jeggo said: “Cycling events have been our family passion for a few years, my father first started events in 1970, he’s now very ill and we’ve taken over the reigns of the events.
“In 1989 it was the first nocturne, it had a carnival atmosphere.
“It appealed not just to cycling fans but to the general public as well.
“The course is a 1.2 mile lap around the town, it’s quite a good course for visibility.
“It’s a proper pro elite race.”
Mrs Jeggo said that the race had attracted thousands of visitors to the town and would provide a boost for local businesses.
She said: “We’ve had up to 15,000 people in this little High Street, locals, day and overnight visitors. We’ve known pubs to run out of beer and fish and chip shops to run out of chips. It’s very lucrative for businesses.
“We’ve got a good social media presence and the event in 2014 made the finals of the Shropshire Star Event of the Year, up against Shrewsbury Flower Show and Cosford Air Show.”
Mr Jeggo said he was inspired to put on the best event possible for his father.
He said: “We’ve really got to do this and make it a fantastic event for dad as he’s really very poorly at the moment.
“We really hope he’ll see it on August 18, it’s put pressure on us to make it a really good edition of the nocturne.
“We wouldn’t even start to talk about a nocturne without the support of the council.
“As a theme of Telford’s 50th anniversary is light the nocturne fits in perfectly.”
Mr Jeggo revealed that four years ago the nocturne cost £24,000 and this year he is expecting it to cost at least £30,000 without television coverage.
He added: “We’d have to pay for the coverage. Our sponsors pay for it and the coverage gets given to the channels.”
