Vespa and its lovers, a never ending story

Since 1946, Piaggio has sold over 19 Million units worldwide which has made the Vespa scooter an iconic mode of transport throughout the decades of the past and many more to come.

Each year a National Vespa Club puts on a World event that attracts thousands of Vespa Club members from around the world and they not only come for the Vespa event, they enjoy sampling the local food, drink and the Culture. This event is from Club to Clubs, meaning that only National Vespa Clubs can organize it and only members can participate.

An area is set up for all the Vespa riders and enthusiasts called the “Vespa Village” where a large selection of stalls are erected by companies, clubs and Piaggio themselves displaying merchandise and memorabilia for the public to peruse and buy.

The Vespa Village is the main focal point for everybody to meet old and new friends from around the world and to share their travelling experiences – not only to this event, but to other events that are held all over Europe.

Over the years the organisation of the Vespa World Days has become more involved for the Host Nation, especially as the years go by, the bar of achievement by the Volunteers, and more so the expectancy from the Vespa Enthusiasts travelling hundreds, even thousands of miles, is pushed higher each year.

History of Eurovespa / Vespa World Days from 1954 – 2022

In 1953 the idea of a “Vespa Club of Europe” was first promoted by the Vespa Club of Italy and its President Renato Tassinari as Piaggio had pushed its boundaries in producing the Vespa Scooter to all over Europe (West Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Belgium). One of the first real international parades of Vespa Scooters was in Paris at the 1954 Folk Festival (8 and 9 of May) where all the riders were in an uniformed costume.

In 1955 it goes a step further and the location is in San Remo but it is reserved for the Italians only with an international Regularity Rally crossing the boundaries between France and Italy, won by the Swiss Umberto Albizzati. It was not until 1957 that the name “Eurovespa” was used at the Barcelona meeting and from here on the organisation was built in order to promote a yearly meeting all over Europe. In August 1960 the Roman edition was held just before the Olympic Games, granting a great international visibility to the gathering.

In 1965 the organization changed its name to “Vespa Club Mondial”, in order to include national Vespa Clubs from outside Europe. Six years later organized activities were stopped. In 1981 the history of Eurovespa lived a new beginning in San Vincenzo (Leghorn province, Tuscany), and since then, every year, the Vespa community has come together to celebrate passion and friendship.

1954: Paris (France)
1955: San Remo (Italy)
1956: Munich (West Germany)
1957: Barcelona (Spain) – first edition of the “Eurovespa”
1958: Brussels (Belgium)
1959: Paris (France)
1960: Rome (Italy)
1961: Salzburg (Austria)
1962: Madrid (Spain)
1963: Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy)
1966: Florence (Italy)
1967: Mainz (West Germany)
1969: Viareggio (Italy)
1970: Locarno (Switzerland)
1981: San Vincenzo (Italy)
1982: Reggio Calabria (Italy)
1983: Saarbrücken (West Germany)
1984: Verona (Italy)
1985: Frankfurt (West Germany)
1986: Barcelona (Spain)
1987: Krems (Austria)
1988: Aix-les-Bains (France)
1989: Kaiserslautern (West Germany)
1990: Kreuzlingen (Switzerland)
1991: Republic of San Marino
1992: Pforzheim (Germany)
1993: Abano Terme (Italy)
1994: Girona (Spain)
1995: Aix-en-Provence (France)
1996: Sanremo (Italy)
1997: Thessaloniki (Greece)
1998: Groningen (Netherlands)
1999: Girona (Spain)
2000: Hamburg (Germany)
2001: Fourchambault (France)
2002: Viterbo (Italy)
2003: Wien (Austria)
2004: Lisbon (Portugal)
2005: Wörthersee (Austria)
2006: Turin (Italy)

In 2007 the yearly events name was changed to the “Vespa World Days” under the supervision of the Vespa World Club continuing the annual gathering of Vespa Club members from around the world.

2007: Republic of San Marino
2008: Cefalù (Italy)
2009: Zell am See (Austria)
2010: Fátima (Portugal)
2011: Gjøvik (Norway)
2012: London (Great Britain)
2013: Hasselt (Belgium)
2014: Mantova (Italy)
2015: Biograd na Moru (Croatia)
2016: Saint-Tropez (France)
2017: Celle (Germany)
2018: Belfast (United Kingdom)
2019: Zánka (Hungary)
2020, 2021: cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic period.
2022: Bali (Indonesia, Vespa World Days)
2022: Guimarães (Portugal, European Vespa Days)
2023: Interlaken (Switzerland)