Funfair News and Features
Interviews from around the UK fairground industry & community, exclusively for World’s Fair subscribers.
Eighteen years after taking over the reins at Pleasureland in Southport, operator Norman Wallis has rebranded the North West seaside park Adventure Coast. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” Norman Wallis tells World’s Fair. “To get away from that ‘Kiss Me Quick’ …
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As seasonal attractions open up again across the country ahead of Easter, the operators of Great Britain’s seaside piers are approaching the 2025 season with a mix of hope and trepidation. Like many hospitality businesses, pier operators will be keeping a close eye on costs …
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Former Showmen’s Guild president Billy Whitelegg and his wife Louise started travelling a hoopla stall in the 1950s, given to them by Billy’s mother Daisy Whitelegg. Further games followed before they bought a juvenile that ended being sold to the most unusual of places. The …
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A six-part TV series has shed a spotlight on the Showmen and women that keep Scotland’s ‘shows’ on the road, whatever the weather. Lighting up the cold winter nights, Showpeople: Licensed To Thrill arrived as a welcome addition to BBC Scotland’s Monday night schedules in late …
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Murphy’s are one of the most famous fairground families in the North East. With the seventh generation on the way, John Henry Murphy tells us why he’s proud to continue that legacy and pay tribute to his late father. It was one Patrick Murphy who …
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Leading Norwegian Showman Aasmund Lund speaks to World’s Fair about Oslo’s popular Christmas market, music festivals, doing business in -10°C conditions, and the extraordinary lengths he goes to for a loyal workforce. As you read this, Jul i Vinterland (Christmas in Winterland) will be well into …
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As he prepares to relinquish the role of President at this month’s Central Council, John Thurston reflects on his three years leading the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, and what might be next. Before he set off for the Eastern Counties Section AGM in 2001, …
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As Chris Danter Jnr’s Equinox thrills fairgoers in a busy backend run, the young Showman reveals why he wanted to bring the iconic ride back to the UK and his belief in the future of the business. For those of us living in the northern …
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Autumn is in the air and that can mean only one thing for Showmen in the Midlands: it’s Mop time! Three lessees share their experiences about this hectic part of the season. As the nights get longer, fairground lights really come into their own. And …
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Each year, John Lowery books hundreds of rides for dozens of events. Yet he still looks back fondly on the days he danced in a gorilla suit on the front of Ernest Hall’s ghost train. “All I had was a black bag with my belongings,” …
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