A party to remember

The rumble of thousands of Harley-Davidsons descended on the southern coast of France for the 5th Euro Festival.

A record-breaking 10,000 Harley fans gathered for yet another fantastic Harley-Davidson Euro Festival in Grimaud, Golfe de St-Tropez during weekend 13-15 May. This year the weather was perfect, with the sun beating down on the chic party atmosphere synonymous with this event.

The French Riviera is Harley heaven for bikers, with picturesque mountain roads snaking their way down to the southern French coastal road. Combined with the chic cities of Marseille to the west and Nice to the east make this is one destination certainly worth adding to your list of places to ride.

The beachfront Les Praires de la Mer campsite near Port Grimaud once again hosted the heart of Euro Festival with a main stage on the beach, the Long Bar stage, the Harley bar, dealers, traders, event merchandise and, of course, access to the bars and restaurants along the beach. The Freeway Magazine custom area featured some impressive custom bikes from builders all across Europe, as well as live pinstriping demonstrations and bike assembly taking place over the course of the weekend.

Attendance this year was the highest ever for this event, and neighbouring towns and regions also hosted activities. The central square in the pretty village of Grimaud, just 8km from the event site set into the surrounding hills, staged the spectacular custom bike show. More than 75 bikes entered the 10 categories and hundreds of spectators lined the streets, soaking up the brilliant atmosphere with live music, kebabs and beer! Taking home the coveted Best in Show prize along with winning the Antique category, was Samuele Reali from Abnormal Cycles, Italy, with his beautiful antique Harley-Davidson Flathead and sidecar.

New to the event this year was a stunt display by Blackliner, one of France’s most professional FMX/DMX teams. Wowing the crowds with its high flying act, the team performed four times over the weekend to the backdrop of the Harley-Davidson Demo Experience. More than 350 visitors took the opportunity to explore the region’s perfect biking roads astride a new 2011 Harley-Davidson model on a specially prepared demo route, with many others who have never experienced riding a motorcycle (mostly women!) taking advantage of Harley’s new Jumpstart – a secured bike that allows riders to experience the thrill of twisting the throttle and changing gear, without moving an inch. Jumpstart will feature at many of Harley’s events this summer so, if you haven’t felt the power yet, this could be your chance!

At night, the beach came alive with live music on the main stage, including performances by the 79ers, Purple Project, an Elvis tribute, Dictionary of Soul, the Deborah Bonham Band and, headlining on Saturday night was France’s own Louis Bertignac. The Harley Bar and disco bars also featured live music from midnight every night, creating an electric atmosphere as visitors partied into the early hours.

As with many Harley-Davidson and H.O.G. events, the coveted Harley-Davidson parade attracted thousands of bikers as well as spectators. The road to Bourain, via St Tropez provides an excellent backdrop and this year saw 7,000 bikes take part in this truly spectacular sight!

Once again, Harley enthusiasts enjoyed the camararderie associated with the legendary motorcycle brand and created a party to remember!