Knaresborough Bed Race organisers make first announcement about the plans for 2023 event

Knaresborough Lions have unveiled the theme for teams from Harrogate, Knaresborough and far further afield who will be participating in next year’s Great Knaresborough Bed Race.

Set to be staged on Saturday, June 10 the two crucial words for 2023 will be ‘That’s Entertainment’.

“We want to give as wide a canvas as possible to encourage the inventiveness of Bed Race teams in the creation of their bed designs and fancy dress,” said Martin Brock, chairman of next year’s Bed Race.

“For many, the parade of the decorated beds and the competition to win the Best Dressed Bed are the highlights of the event.

"But even the faster teams treat this part of the Bed Race contest as highly important.

“Each year, we see great ingenuity in the originality and creativity of the designs.

"It adds so much to the overall spectacle and makes the whole town a perfect stage for the Bed Race experience.

“Roll on next June!”

Next year is the 56th Great Knaresborough Bed Race, an event that goes back to 1966.

There were two years of cancellation in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.

The winner of the 2022 Best Dressed Bed trophy was The Rocket Men. Second were 1st Scriven Scouts and third were Techbuyer. Special commendations were given to HENCHshaws, Aspin Avengers, SFC, Harrogate Symphony Orchestra and It’s a COP-out.

The Bed Race is run by the volunteer Knaresborough Lions Club to raise funds for local charities and good causes.

It plays out around the cobbled streets, steep hills and leafy parkland of Knaresborough, and attracts attention from all around the world.

It has spawned similar events in Germany, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and in other parts of the UK.

“Nowhere offers the wonderful combination of spectacular scenery, an extremely taxing course and the final act of swimming through the ever-icy waters of the River Nidd,” said Martin Brock.

“The event survived the pandemic and we feel that nothing can stop it, come hell or high water in the Nidd.”

The Bed Race is truly an all-community event.

Apart from the 90 teams of six runners and a passenger which take part, 300 local people help with organisation on the day.

The event attracts 30,000 spectators each year and garners TV coverage around the world.

The challenging course is over 2.4 miles and takes in parkland, the glories of Waterside through the Nidd Gorge, up the almost sheer Castle Ings, through the cobbled street of the town, down Bond End to High Bridge, through McIntosh Park.

It finishes with a 35-yard swim through the ever icy and fast-flowing waters of the River Nidd.In the past, the fastest complete the course in under 14 minutes, the slowest in little more than twice that time.

A mammoth task of organisation for the volunteers behind it, the money raised from the Bed Race over and above costs goes to Knaresborough Lions’ chosen charities, most of which are local causes.

Entry forms for Bed Race teams will appear from January 1, 2023 on the event website www.bedrace.co.uk.

These have to be filled in and returned to the Lions club before the end of February.