Theme for 2023 Bed Race is 'That's Entertainment'

Knaresborough Lions have announced that the theme for next year’s Great Knaresborough Bed Race is to be ‘That’s Entertainment’. The 2023 Bed Race will be staged on Saturday 10 June.

“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.

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

“Roll on next June!"

Bed Race is 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.

Entry forms for the teams will appear from 1 January 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.