40th anniversary of the 480 - International Meet Up May 2026

[MisterH]

I would love to go to this, but as it lands in dissertation time at uni it is all dependent on if its wrapped up by then. Oh and I will be moving house. Might see if I can do a one day quest where I get crack of dawn Eurotunnel, but I suppose hotels will be booked out

[Martin63]

I would love to go to this, but as it lands in dissertation time at uni it is all dependent on if its wrapped up by then. Oh and I will be moving house. Might see if I can do a one day quest where I get crack of dawn Eurotunnel, but I suppose hotels will be booked out

A motivation to start early if there ever was one

We are now up to 105 cars - quite incredible

[Martin63]

Now 110 cars, including 6 from Italy alone

[Martin63]

Now up to 115 cars including 18 from the UK with 9 months still to go. Incredible!

If you are thinking of going but have not yet registered and/or booked a hotel room it would be wise to do so soon as the hotel is fast filling up.

For more information go to www.volvo480.info

[MisterH]

I think I have registered just in case, will have to see the week before if I can make it. would be an epic sidequest. Never know might submit the dissertation from the passenger seat

[Martin63]

I think I have registered just in case, will have to see the week before if I can make it. would be an epic sidequest. Never know might submit the dissertation from the passenger seat

Fingers crossed!!

We are now up to 120 cars pre registered, with 19 of them from the UK. Our next planning meeting is on Tuesday evening. Lots to discuss. All being well there will be an outline agenda for the weekend announced in the coming weeks. We are also looking at a back up hotel too as the numbers booked so far are phenomenal!

Lots of interest from the Netherlands and Germany as Jan, Thijs and I had expected, but also 8 cars from Italy, 5 from Portugal and 2 from Spain too. It's going to be quite some weekend!

[Martin63]

On Tuesday evening Jan, Thijs and I held planning meeting number 12 for the May 2026 get together in Cologne.

There are a remarkable 141 cars signed up so far

Check out the www.volvo480.info website for more news - an email will also be going out soon to everyone who has signed up for the weekend. If you have not already signed up and also booked your accommodation it would be very wise to do so soon.

It's also worth checking your ferry/Eurotunnel journey too. There are usually some Black Friday deals, so it's worth signing up for email offers etc.

[Martin63]

We are now up to 147 480s registered for the May 2026 Cologne weekend. Quite incredible!

The following email went out to all of the people who have signed up via the event website. If you plan to join the event and have not yet registered, please do so very soon to help Jan, Thijs and myself with the advance planning;


Dear 480 fans,

Today marks 6 months to go. All being well we will see all of you at the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Volvo 480 international meeting in the Cologne area in May 2026.

Here are some updates;

We now have an incredible 143 Volvo 480s signed up so far. These include cars from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Introduction
Our ambition is to surpass the huge success of the 2024 meeting (103 cars). It looks like we will easily beat last year's record in 2026. With an expected 150 or so 480s joining us, as you will no doubt realise, organising the 2026 event is much more challenging than it was last year. 

The high number of vehicles is fantastic of course, but it does cancel out many of the possible destinations that we had in mind. On many smaller local Volvo 480 meetings all over Europe, the agenda often includes beautiful excursion destinations and often some "cultural" programmes. Many beautiful locations do not offer parking capacity for approximately 150 plus cars and the infrastructure for around 250-350 (!?) people. Also, driving together in a group will not be so easy. If you calculate it, the length of the convoy with approximately 140 x Volvo 480s on a country road would be over 3,5 km long

At the 2026 meeting the focus will more be on the impressive gathering of 480s and having people from all over Europe coming together. A meeting with friends, good conversations and international networking. 

We have been working on the itinerary (agenda / programme) for many months now, with multiple visits made to several of the potential locations that we will be using next year. 

We have now completed the programme and updated the events website www.volvo480.info.
Please visit the website for the latest information. Download the roadbook for more detailed information with the timings, venues and the itinerary.

On the Saturday at the Cologne Horse Racecourse, you will be part of a record breaking main event with the highest number of 480 cars ever together in the same place. On the Sunday we will be staging most of the road trips.

Volvo 480 Awards 
We received feedback last year that some 480 awards would be nice. So we are very pleased to announce we have created an international group of 480 experts who will be judging the award categories.

One of the awards will be for the best personal and the most interesting 480 story. So do please start thinking about this if you would like to participate. Do share your stories with us by no later than 30th March 2026. Please go to the event website for more details. The Awards will be sponsored by SKANDIX.

Accommodation
We are now getting close to filling the 70 bedrooms that we have reserved for the event at the Hotel Schuetzenhof, east of Cologne.  There are only 25 rooms left. So if you want to be with the main group over the weekend and you have not already done so, it will be wise to make your reservation at Hotel Schuetzenhof very soon. For more details, including the reservation code for the hotel, please go to the event website.

If Hotel Schuetzenhof becomes fully booked, then you will need to find and book a local alternative hotel or a campsite by yourself.

Food / Dinner
We would really like you to join the dinners on both days as it’s always good to be able to socialise over some food and drink. In order for us to be able to instruct the restaurants fully for the Saturday and Sunday evening dinners when we are expecting approximately c.250 (?!) people, we will be sending you in March an additional online registration email for you to complete with your details. Dinner costs and the menu details are in the Road Book to be downloaded via the website.

Sponsoring
Since we are not an association or a company and therefore have no budget, planning the programme is very challenging. Many of the potential venues and locations involve reservation follow-up costs that we want to avoid. The search for sponsors and donors has been relatively unsuccessful so far. Skandix will sponsor the awards, and Volvo Car Germany will give support for a scheduled 480 community dinner on Sunday. However these are relatively small sums.

 Do feel free to get in contact with us if you have any ideas on ways to help to raise some sponsorship money for the event. We will then use this to pay for the locations, stickers, posters, goody bags, printing costs etc. 

Alternatively, if you wish to support the event personally with a contribution/donation to help to make the event a great success, again please contact us.

Next Steps
If you are not already one of the 293 members of the Volvo Galaxy Project community on Whatsapp, we do recommend that you join the group and our specific group called “2026 International 480 Meeting”. Here you will find lots of 480 enthusiasts and a lot of information including details of the International event in May 2026. If you need any help in joining the WhatsApp group, please contact Thijs via WhatsApp.

Public Online Video Conference call via Microsoft Teams
On Sunday 22nd March at 19.00 UK time/20.00 CET, we will offer a video conference call via Teams for anyone who would like to chat informally or ask questions about the event. Send us an Email if you want to join the online Video Call and we will send you the Teams link nearer the time.

See you soon...
Please check the website, download the roadbook/programme, reserve your accommodation and make sure your 480 will be ready for May 2026!
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

We can't wait to see you in Cologne!

Best Regards

Jan
Thijs
Martin

--
2026 VOLVO 480 Meet Up
www.volvo480.info

[Martin63]

We are now up to 150 cars for the Cologne event with cars from (literally!) all over Europe registered. Absolutely incredible!

Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone. I look forward to meeting some of you at the Hampshire get together in April and also in Cologne in May!

Martin

[Martin63]

Planning meeting number 14 took place this evening. All's going well.

We will be putting out an appeal for volunteer helpers soon - car park guides, stewards, drone pilots etc.

There will be an auto jumble/480 flea market, so do start digging out any 480 bits and pieces that you would like to sell.

We are now up to an incredible 164 cars from all over Europe registered!

More details on the event via version 1 of the road book which can be on the website. There will be a version 2 in the coming weeks.

If you haven't booked your hotel yet and want to be in with the main group of attendees then it would be really wise to go to www.volvo480.info very soon for the hotel booking code and then go ahead and book directly with the hotel.

If you haven't registered yet for the weekend, please do so soon to help us get the numbers accurate for the host venues, restaurants etc. This might be the only chance you get to attend a get together like this.

It's going to be an excellent weekend, with lots of scenic drives as well as opportunities to socialise with other 480 drivers from all around Europe

[Martin63]

A quick update;

We have been informed today by the hotel that they are now fully booked for the weekend of our Cologne area Volvo 480 event.

The 480 drivers have now taken up approximately 85 of their rooms, almost the entire hotel!

Unfortunately this means that anyone who has not yet booked their accommodation needs to find an alternative hotel in the area. You could try contacting the hotels directly or via one of the hotel booking sites.

Good luck and see you in May!

Martin, Jan and Thijs

[Martin63]

6 more sign ups in the last few days - 170 480s

[Martin63]

We are now up to 172 480s signed up!

The hotel is now full.

If anyone hasn't reserved a room yet, they will need to find a local alternative.