Hull Fair

Hull Fair is one of Europe's largest travelling funfairs,[1] which comes to Kingston upon Hull, England for one week from 4 pm on Friday[2] to 12 am of the Saturday eight days later, encompassing 11 October each year. The fair is open every day between these days except Sunday. Unlike small local fairs Hull Fair attracts rides, attractions, and travellers from a wide variety of different regions from around the country.

Hull Fair, October 2015

The fair is one of the city's biggest traditions, as well as one of its oldest, having reached its 700th anniversary in 1993. Carrying on with such tradition, the fair is opened by the Lord Mayor of Hull on the opening evening, normally at 5 pm. It first opened from 9 to 23 March 1278.

Local tradition states that the changing of the calendar in 1751 led the locals to believe the loss of eleven days affected their fair. “Give us back our eleven days,” was the cry as an enraged mob charged around the streets of Hull, calling for the return of their eleven-day festivities which they believed to have been lost due to the calendar change. The outraged masses got their wish and from that year onwards 11 October, or the Friday nearest to it, became the official date for Hull Fair.[3] In 2017, the fair ran from 6 to 14 October (excluding Sunday).[4]

The fair is held on land on the east side of Walton Street, situated next to the KCOM Stadium and the Airco Arena.

There was no fair in 1915–18, 1940–45 and 2020.[5]

Incidents

A 17-year-old student was seriously injured in a fall from the Bomber ride, after not being properly fastened into her seat. The incident, which took place in October 2002, resulted in the student suffering head and spinal injuries,[6][7] two broken legs, as well as an injured hip and pelvis.[8]

In October 2008, the elastic cord of a reverse bungee ride broke whilst it was in use. Although people were on the ride when it happened, nobody suffered any injuries.[9]

On 13 October 2017, a fault with the Power Tower ride at Hull Fair left more than thirty riders, aged between nine and 60, trapped about 70 ft (21m) in the air for five hours. Firefighters had to use an aerial platform to rescue those stuck, and it was the third time that the ride had broken down since the fair had opened that year. Riders were giving blankets to keep them warm and got off at approximately midnight.[10][11] That same year, a video was uploaded online showing a young boy managing to climb over and stand on a safety chain used to pin back riders, whilst on the Meteorite ride.[12]

On 7 October 2019, a woman flew off a ride, the Airmaxxx 360. The bar on her carriage failed and she was ejected from the ride, landing on a teenager boy and hitting another ride. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries to her face, abdomen, and leg, while the teenager suffered minor injuries to his foot. The two rides were taped off at the time of the incident and closed. [13][14]

References
  1. "Hull Fair fun for all what's it all about? - What People are Saying". The Hull Fair Project. University of Sheffield. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  2. "Hull Fair Website". Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. "Hull Fair". Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  4. "Hull Fair 2017 prices, rides, dates, parking and everything else you need to know". Hull Daily Mail. October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  5. "Hull Fair 2020 officially cancelled for first time in 75 years". Hull Daily Mail. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. "Terror at 135ft as girl 'knew she would fall'". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  7. "Girl critical after fairground fall". BBC News. 16 October 2002. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  8. Stokes, Paul (16 October 2002). "Ride girl 'not secured'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  9. "Mother's fear over bungee failure". BBC News. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  10. "Dozens trapped 70ft up as fair ride fails". BBC News. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  11. Leeson, Lucy (14 October 2017). "Hull Fair's Power Tower will remain CLOSED today - here's why". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  12. Bullen, Jamie (14 October 2017). "Terrifying footage as boy climbs over safety chain on Hull Fair ride". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  13. Robinson, Hannah; Mutch, Michael (7 October 2019). "Woman flung from Airmaxx 360 hits boy and smashes into second ride". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  14. Riley, Anna (8 October 2019). "New police statement on Hull Fair ride after woman, 21, falls off Airmaxx 360". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2019.

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