​EVENTS: Global Birdfair announced for ​weekend of 15-17 July

20 January 2022
​By Alex James

A major new birding event has been announced in Rutland, England for summer 2022 with the launch of Global Birdfair.

'New Birdfair' will take place at the Rutland Showground in Oakham over the weekend of 15-17 July and promises to be even better than the very popular 'Old Birdfair' with something for everyone. Birdfair did try a virtual event in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, but with little success.

Announcing the event on Twitter, founder Tim Appleton said:
"It's going to be an incredible weekend with so much happening. New sponsors, old sponsors, new exhibitors and events. Please join on that weekend and let us celebrate conservation once again as we go global once again with Global Birdfair."
​
There had been widespread outrage within the birding tribes at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust's decision to cancel Birdfair, the long-running event that had raised more than £5 million for conservation projects run by Birdlife International.

The Trust had cited four key factors as reasons behind the decision, namely financial risk, business risk, the climate crisis and the longer-term impact on the reserve.

The carbon footprint of Birdfair had come under considerable scrutiny in recent years as awareness grows about the worsening global climate crisis.

Acknowledging these concerns, Global Birdfair said on its website: "We are working closely with a carbon offsetting organisation to provide a platform for Global Birdfair to make significant contributions to their scheme. We aim to make Global Birdfair as carbon neutral as possible. Their system contributes to projects in the UK and overseas."

Details on the event and further announcements will follow at the event's website.
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