Motability Scheme event for disabled people enjoys record turnout of over 11,600 visitors
The Big Event, hosted by the Motability Scheme, saw its biggest ever attendance with a record-breaking turnout of more than 11,600 visitors attending the two-day event at The NEC in Birmingham.
The Big Event took place on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May 2023 and offered the chance for disabled people and their families, friends and carers to find out everything they need to know about the Motability Scheme. With over 150 vehicles on display, visitors could explore the latest range of cars, take a test drive and have their questions answered by Scheme experts.
For the second year running, anyone unable to attend the event in person could tune in online to ‘The Big Event Streamed Live’. There were more than 7,000 live views of the digital content including expert Speaker Sessions – with guest appearances from former Royal Marine and Invictus Games athlete, Mark Ormrod, and British Wheelchair Basketball’s Lee Manning – and exclusive Q&As and videos. All of the online content is available to watch, on demand, for the rest of the summer here.
Brand new for 2023 at The Big Event, the Innovation Zone also showcased future technology for cars, powered wheelchairs and scooters. The Motability Operations Innovation Team were on hand to answer questions, showcase their latest initiatives, and sign up customers for future innovation and product pilots.
Alison Beasley, The Big Event manager at Motability Operations, said: “This is the second year running that we’ve had record attendance at The Big Event and we couldn’t be more thrilled. 
“The whole ethos of the event is to offer an accessible and inclusive day out for all ages to enjoy while they gather all the information they might need about the Scheme, so to see the popularity continue to grow is exciting.
“We introduced ‘The Big Event Streamed Live’ last year so that people can join us online if they can’t make it to Birmingham, and to see the numbers of people joining us digitally almost double in its second year is fantastic. We’re already starting to think about how we can increase the online experience for future years too.
And this is just the start for our events this year, our One Big Day programme continues with our next event in Northern Ireland on Saturday 24 June. We’re looking forward to welcoming more people there and at venues across the UK this summer.”
The Big Event was the first in the Motability Scheme’s series of summer events, which are free to attend, with plenty of free parking available. The remaining 2023 One Big Day programme line-up includes:
- One Big Day, Belfast – Eikon Exhibition Centre, Saturday 24 June
- One Big Day, Exeter – Westpoint, Saturday 22 July
- One Big Day, Harrogate – Yorkshire Event Centre, Saturday 12 August
- The Big Event, Edinburgh – Royal Highland Centre, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 September
