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
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2026 VOLVO 480 Meet Up
www.volvo480.info
