Great Western Tattoo Show Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th July 2023
The Background
Swindon is a central hub for tattooing in the south of the United Kingdom with its accessible location and over 20 active studios in the town.
Whilst tattooing has grown in the town, the local authority in Swindon has kept a tight rein on the regulations, making it difficult or almost impossible to allow guest artists to visit and a tattoo convention to take place.
Towards the end of 2021 we started to enquire with Swindon Borough Council about hosting a convention. Initially we were met with high prices and impossible hurdles to jump, but following months of discussion, our analysis of bylaws and regulations,Β an agreement was made to hold a convention in 2023.
This was formalised at a Licensing Committee on the evening of December 6th 2022.Β
The Location
Swindon is an ideal location for a regional or national event and is often overlooked. It is in a key location between Bristol, London, Oxford and Reading with bus, rail and road links.
The M4 motorway runs through the borough and the bus and rail stations are within walking distance of the venue.
Swindon Town itself has a current estimated population of 225,000.
The Venue
Swindon has a number of things to be proud of but most noticeable is its industrial heritage from the great days of the railway – GWR.
We have chosen the GWR Steam Museum’s Great Western Hall as our venue, with the adjoining Hawksworth Hall as an option to extend if needed. This is part of the converted railway works and is steeped in history.
The area has numerous facilities and is right next door to the huge McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Village. The hall is fully accessible and the convention is split over 3 levels with lift access.
The hall has plenty of space with planned layouts for up to 100 artists, 20 plus vendors, a bar, a rest area, coffee bar, two large screen projectors and a stage area.
The area outside the hall has space for numerous street food vendors. The capacity for the venue will be in excess of 1000 people per day.
![hall_1668527134](https://gwts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/hall_1668527134.webp)
Ingenious Events
GaryΒ is a tattoo artist and owner of Black Heart Ink in Swindon. He has decades of experience in event planning and management, from music festivals, the U.Ks largest Lifeboat Charity Day to the Olympic Torch Relay and more.
CekoΒ is an awarding tattoo artist with experience of tattooing at and organising numerous conventions around Europe.
EmmaΒ is the studio manager at Black Heart Ink and has decades of experience in finance, procurement and supplier management.
Partnership Opportunties
We are looking for a long term, mutually beneficial, partnership with our sponsors.
We know we can offer huge brand exposure for you in the region and online within a demographic that is key to your business.
We are not going to presume to know what your business would want in return for your support so we are not offering standard packages.
We would prefer to have a discussion about your goals, needs and expectations for a partnership.
Below is list of benefits and opportunities we could offer but if there are any othersΒ you can think of please let us know.
![benefits](https://gwts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/benefits.png)
An Example
- Included retail / demo stand location
- Internal brand display placements
- Email opportunities to ticket holders
- Click, like, follow social media competition inclusion
- On large screen promotion during the event
- Pre and post event social media promotion
*We are in discussions with the presenters of a popular Youtube tattoo show about broadcasting from the event. This has yet to be agreed.