After two cancellations due to the pandemic,
Harley riders return to Portorož from 9-12 June
2022. The much anticipated 29th Annual European H.O.G. Rally returns to
Portorož, representing one of the most significant events on the Harley-Davidson
calendar. The European event was previously hosted by Lugano, Prague and the Portuguese
town of Cascais between 2017 and 2019 respectively. The event is open to all motorbike riders,
with the organisers expecting up to 30.000 Harley-Davidson riders, enthusiasts
and friends.
The 29th European H.O.G. Rally will offer a variety of entry free events.
The epicentre of the showcase will be located on the square Trg Prekomorskih
Brigad in Portorož, with the main concert stage and a platform showcasing the
latest Harley-Davidson models. Visitors will also enjoy the music at two
smaller concert stages located on Portorož Beach and LifeClass Hotels &
Spa’s Meduza Beach, with its own Harley Bar. The following bands will perform
at the event: HeaveniX, Viperstone, The Dreams, Samuel Lucas Band, Hamo
& Tribute To Love, King Foo, Hellcats, San Di Ego Band and Cowboys
From Hell. Demonstration rides will be held near Hotel Marko. Portorož
Beach's Shopping Village will sell clothes and other Harley-Davidson merchandise.
Visitors will also be able to visit the legendary Custom Bike Show, which will
take place on Friday 10 June in the former Grando salt warehouse.
The Harley-Davidson consumer experience manager for the region, Tom
Robinson, said: »We at Harley-Davidson are super excited about the event
and we believe that we are expecting a very strong attendance. Our members have
been eagerly awaiting the European Rally since 2019 and we are confident that
this year's event in Portorož will be even more successful than the last one.« The
Harley-Davidson Company yesterday launched its new model, the Nightster, which
will be also available on show in June in Portorož.
The riders
will not only visit Portorož but will also embark on trips to nearby locations. Slovenian H.O.G. Lipa Chapter will
organise group guided tours on Thursday and Friday, 9-10 June. Groups of 50 to 80 riders will twice a day
visit Postojna, Brkini, Škocjan Caves, Lipica, Ilirska Bistrica and Štanjel. Portorož
Tourist Board also prepared various itineraries for individual trips through
Piran's hinterland, with recommended stops, to see the sights and taste Istrian
culinary delicacies.
The event will
reach its peak on Saturday 11 June, when the riders will ride their
Harley-Davidsons at a parade through Slovenian Istria. At 11am they will leave
Lucija heading towards Sečovlje, then past Dragonja on Šmarska cesta road into
Koper. From there, past Žusterna on the seaside towards Izola, and back to Portorož.
Maja Plahutnik
Nahtigal, event coordinator from the Portorož Tourist
Board, emphasised that together with the organisers the event will be run
according to principles of sustainability: »We will avoid the use of diesel
generators, ensure to avoid as much waste as possible, we won't be printing
posters but will provide all visitor information exclusively in electronic form.«
The organisers
have once again selected Portorož as the most suitable venue for the event,
evidently impressed by their last visit in 2016. They were charmed by our natural beauty, the
pleasant Mediterranean climate and roads offering easy access to the location.
They were very pleased with our previous coordination of the event at the
destination and our warm welcome. The event was proclaimed as the world's
Automotive Event of 2016 at the Conference & Incentive Travel Excellence
Awards.
It is a logistically demanding project, led at the destination by
Portorož Tourist Board in collaboration with the Municipality of Piran, Public
Entity Okolje Piran, Piran Police Station, Police Administration of Koper and Istrian
Inter-municipal Compliance Officers.
Aleksander Valentin, director of
Portorož Tourist Board: »On the one hand, the project represents significant
financial contribution, on the other it also provides fantastic long term
promotional value and will contribute significantly towards recognition of our
destination. I am happy that tourism stakeholders also recognise this and that
the event is again supported by hoteliers such as LifeClass Hotels & Spa,
Hotels Bernardin, Hotel Kempinski Palace Portorož, Hotels Remisens and the Dispersed
Hotel Locap Group, which will invest part of their profits from rooms sold
during this period to co-finance the H.O.G. Rally.«
It is expected that the visitors to the Municipality of Piran and wider
Istria will account for at least 75.000 overnight stays. The programme, the map
and detailed traffic information will be available on www.portoroz.si.