From Thursday 12 June to Sunday 15 June, four days of
festivities, friendship and love for the most famous and
best-selling scooter in the world.
Introducing "Motoplex", the Piaggio Group concept store that
provides a glimpse into the future: grand opening Friday in Mantua
with Aprilia Superbike champions Marco Melandri and Sylvain
Guintoli.
Thousands of Vespisti representing 130 Vespa Clubs from 31
countries are expected.
Mantua, 9 June 2014 - Thousands of Vespisti representing 31
countries and more than 130 Vespa Clubs are expected in Mantua for
the Vespa World Days event, the most important international club
event dedicated to passion and love for Vespa.
Mantua, the splendid Lombardy city which is a symbol of the
Italian renaissance and declared by UNESCO as part of the heritage
of humanity, will host the enthusiasts and their various Vespas of
every era and model from Thursday 12 June through Sunday 15 June
following the previous editions held in Portugal (2010), Norway
(2011), Great Britain in London (2012) and Belgium (2013).
It will be four days of friendship, music and colour in the
spirit of passion for Vespa and for two wheels where thousands of
scooter from every era will be swarming all over Mantua and the
most beautiful destinations of the Province.
The hub of the event will be Piazza Virgiliana in the heart of
Mantua, where visitors will find the Vespa Village, home to
Vespisti and the central point of the event.
Another great destination for all the Vespa World Days 2014
participants will be the grand opening of Motoplex, the new Piaggio
Group Concept Store - the largest in Europe - which will open at
the BOMA in Mantua on Friday at 7:30 PM. At the grand opening
celebration Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli will be
participating, the Aprilia Superbike riders who are just coming
from a double one-two victory at Sepang (Malaysia) where Marco won
both races and Sylvain had two second place finishes.
Motoplex is the first new concept store dedicated to all
two-wheel enthusiasts and it is a window to the Piaggio Group
future. It is, in fact, a tribute to the Group's most important
brands - not only Vespa but also Piaggio, Moto Guzzi and Aprilia -
and to the millions of customers, owners and fans that these brands
have all over the world. Not only is it a store and showroom, but
it is a true hub for scooter and motorbike lovers: 1,300 square
metres of space, 46 vehicles on display, two complete lounges where
you can sit and admire wide screen videos, a bar and live streaming
events over the two 138 inch videowalls.
The large Motoplex store, which will open its doors on 13 June
to all the thousands of Vespisti arriving in Mantua, is the first
example of how future Piaggio Group dealerships and sale points all
over the world will develop: not only in Europe, where the Group is
the undisputed leader on a continental level, but also in the USA
(where Vespa is the best selling scooter) and in far-off markets
like Vietnam, India and Southeast Asia where the Group's industrial
and commercial presence has grown in recent years as a genuine
'Made in Italy' emblem of notoriety, style and technology.
The full schedule of Vespa World Days 2014 includes a series of
tours which, leaving from Mantua, will cross the territory around
the Gonzaga city. There will be numerous attraction which can also
be explored with the free 'Terre di Mantova' app that the Province
of Mantua has provided for tourists and has made available for
Android and Apple iOS in Italian, English and German. The Vespa
outings will include the beautiful countryside as well as artistic
and architectural locations such as Felonica (a town with millenary
history at the far east of Lombardy) with a stop at the historic
Abbey on the shores of the Po, Sabbioneta (where the Oglio
tributary meets the Po in a blaze of vegetation and colours) and
Grazie di Curtatone (a naturalist itinerary among reeds and lotus
flowers). Leaving the province participants will come to Sirmione
(crossing the morainic hills so typical of northern Mantua) and
Valeggio (a medieval village on the Mincio where the flavours of
Lombardy meet those of Veneto). Attractive and historical cities
will also be visited on the tours - cities such as Brescia and
Verona.
All of the information on Vespa World Days is online at
www.vespaworlddays2014.it, provided by the organisation which is
part of the Mantua Vespa Club. This year the high point of Vespa
World Days will once again be the awards ceremony for the winners
of the Vespa Trophy, the competition between Vespa travellers, who
will use photographs and special stamps in their Travel Books to
show all the stops they made during the trip to Mantua. This is a
touring trophy that involves more than 2,000 Piaggio Group
dealerships from 25 countries all over the world. All Vespa Clubs
can participate: the goal is to reach Mantua by June 12th, visiting
the most Piaggio Check Points en route with the largest number of
Vespas possible. Complete information is available at
www.vespatrophy.com.
Vespa World Days: the only event of its kind in the
world
Under the aegis of the Vespa World Club - established in 2006,
heir to the Vespa Club of Europe and later the
Fédération Internationale des Vespa Clubs (active
from 1983 to 2005) - every year the Vespa World Days are held, a
four day rally that attracts Vespa enthusiasts from all over the
world.
Built entirely in steel from the beginning, all Vespa models -
from the legendary first 98cc which put the world back on two
wheels in 1946, up to the very recent Vespa Primavera and Vespa
Sprint - have weathered the test of time, with millions still on
the road all over the world, inspiring the phenomenon of Vespa
Clubs and various associations. Restored, cared for and pampered,
millions of Vespas have become beloved objects today, often passed
down from father to son.
In almost seventy years of life, the Vespa has not "only" become
the most popular and best-selling scooter in the world (more than
18 million Vespas have been sold over 5 continents), but it has
also established itself as a cultural phenomenon, uniting entire
generations from different countries and continents in a common
passion.
Today the Vespa World Days event represents the celebration of
this timeless legend, celebrating the only scooter capable of going
beyond its function as a user friendly and elegant vehicle, ideal
for daily commutes, to become a true global brand that embodies
universal values of youth, style and liberty.
A great love for Vespa was immediately kindled in the hearts of
the fans, so much to bring many owners as early as 1946, the year
the first Vespa was made, to join: and so the first Vespa Clubs
were founded, in Italy and abroad. Today, there are 40 National
Vespa Clubs associated with the Vespa World Club and more than
60,000 members worldwide. This past year, in Italy alone, more than
100 rallies for fans were held.
It is impossible to calculate the number of Vespa enthusiasts,
or the Internet web pages dedicated to the most popular and famous
scooter in the world.
For additional information:
Piaggio Group Press Office
Via Broletto, 13
20121 Milan +39 02 319612.15/16/17/18
press@piaggio.com
www.piaggiogroup.com
Organizing Committee
2014 VESPA WORLD DAYS
Tel +39 339 8613527
www.vespaworlddays2014.it
Skype: VCMantova
For more information please contact:
Mark Berger
Marketing Manager
PS Importers
20 Stubbs Street Kensington, Vic 3031
Mob: 0417 060 937
Tel: + 61 (03) 9381 9765
Fax: + 61 (03) 9381 9798
Email: mark@psimporters.com.au
website: www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au
Youtube: www.youtube.com.OfficialTriumph
Flickr: www.flickr.com/officialTriumph