03/09/2026
THE TIPPING POINT: why it is time to break the cycle
This past Bank Holiday weekend marked a definitive shift for our network. Over the years, we have adapted, evolved, and changed our displays in a constant effort to keep the public engaged at the larger events and across the country.
Despite our flexibility, we have never truly settled. We’ve faced different pitches, different layouts, and different logistical hurdles at every turn.
For a long time, the draw of convenience, loyalty to the calendar, the amazing array of militaria stalls and the fantastic evening socialising with friends has always been enough to keep our network coming back to large events. But it simply isn't enough anymore.
It is easy to fall into the habit of criticising the layout or public footfall of one specific field only to sign up for the same show the following year or another show just like it, but if we continuously fund and prop up the exact same blueprint because it's convenient or familiar, we are only fueling the cycle that is destroying us.
For something new and authentic to be born out of the ashes, we have to be willing to walk away from templates that don't work.
I am realistic. I know these commercial mega-events are massive crowd-pleasers. Their primary focus will always be the big arena displays and the explosive battlefield spectacles because that is what sells the tickets. I am also well aware that certain individuals and groups receive financial compensation for services rendered at some of these events, which understandably results in them praising the shows highly online. Neither am I ignorant of the hard work and effort, as well as costs that go into these events, which put such shows under immense pressure to break even and survive.
I fully appreciate that an event's structure isn't entirely the organiser's fault, and I've realized that we are trapped in a self-fulfilling loop.
By continuing to turn up year after year, we send a passive message to show management, “It’s fine, we will grumble, but will always attend anyway.”
They too are caught in a loop, an ever changing public dynamic that demands spectacle and so when this is catered for the events slowly evolve into less "living history" and more "living theme park". The public then see history in these simplistic action packed narratives and bang.... we have created a hydra.
For an independent, self-funded living history group, the reality is in these photos taken midday on a bank holiday weekend. What makes it harder to swallow is knowing that just a few yards away, the next row over was packed with crowds.
When you spend thousands of pounds on accurate kit, invest months of research, and give up your hard-earned vacation time to educate, standing on an empty road while the public is funneled right past you means the event is no longer worthy of our time.
Will we never ever attend again? The answer is I don't know, hopefully, as we do love these events and the hard work that goes into them.
It is no single person's fault, but a reflection of the times. There is a stark shift in the public appetite itself. At massive events, the casual crowd is conditioned to be passive spectators looking for quick, loud hits before moving on. The desire to slow down, look closely at a camp and actually learn is far less than I have ever seen for some time. It stands in total contrast to the smaller, enthusiast-run events we've attended over the past couple of years, where visitors arrive with a genuine hunger for history and will happily stand and chat with us for ten or twenty minutes. This is an uncomfortable truth we must all face.
Did we have fun? Yes absolutely, mainly because of our wonderful and welcoming Catalonian neighbours and the social interaction with other groups, a reason these large events can be great!
I will still post some great photos of what we did and some of the positive interaction we had. Not all is lost, but there is a need for some honest evaluation and not just privately as it's important that individual groups discuss their experiences and feelings openly so we don't feel on a vacuum. If others have the same feelings it's important to know.
Whilst a survey might make us feel better now, private surveys are designed to contain and manage anger, not necessarily to act on it. Typing into a hidden box keeps the problem quiet, but if we want things to improve, the truth needs to be out in the open, remember that change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. (Obama)
This winter we will be wiping the calendar clean with a clear intention of stepping off some of the mega events treadmill.
