Euro Meet 2009: Celebrating the legend of the S2000

What an amazing and historical meeting!

This is the only way to describe one of the best, or should I say, the most significant and emotional anniversary meet ever organized, absolutely perfectly!

More than 220 S2000s and 450 people were gathered from all over Europe in Trento, Italy to celebrate the 10th anniversary of production of the S2000. The legend will live on for ever, even though this is the last year of production for the S2000. No words can describe the amazing experience that we shared during the Euro Meet event with our special guest of honour, Shigeru Uehara San, chief designer of the S2000.

From day one on Friday, the S2000s were arriving from thirteen different countries from all over Europe. Each moment that we lived will never be forgotten. And this feeling was not only contained to the Euro Meet itself. I am sure, that many S2000 owners felt the same way as we did as we drove from Athens, Greece to Italy. All the way from our home land to getting on that ferry to eventually arriving in Levico Terme, Italy, that feeling was there.

The excitement was building up as friends with a common passion arrived at the venue. It is really hard to describe these feelings, but we all felt like one big family. We made new friends, we laughed, and we enjoyed the ride of our lives.

The organization was perfect. Special thanks go to the organizers, Lee Benson, Furio Fraccaroli, Beppe Magistro, Ian Eygelsheim and all of our Italian friends who made this possible.

On Saturday morning everything was set for the beginning of the scheduled route to the beautiful mountain scenery and excellent roads (the grip was outstanding). Every turn on the 105 mile route was highlighted with a custom made road sign marked with “EuroMeet 2009” and a big pointy arrow. This was a very clever and helpful guide for the entire weekend.

The route was absolutely brilliant, with great scenery all the way to the top of Monte Bondone. Twists and turns, burning rubber, this route was perfect for serious petrol heads who were able to explore the maximum capabilities of both themselves and the car. Monte Bondone was a beautiful place to relax and enjoy couple of pints of beer, although those of us who didn’t sleep much the night before needed a strong espresso or two to keep the eyes open.

From there we set off again and went all the way down the other side of the mountain to San Severino for a scheduled break, with a visit and walk in the beautiful city of Trento. Some quality relaxation time was spent there until the time came to return to our hotels in Levico Terme.

Following our dinner on Saturday night we carried out the charity auction and raffle. Many thanks again to the organizers and also to Sarah, who were responsible for the fund raising activities. Through the sale of official merchandise and through the charity auction we managed to raise more than 10,000 Euros. These funds will be donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres and to the Italian people who suffered from the recent earthquake in central Italy. We expect to raise even more funds as soon as the official Euromeet 2009 DVD and photographs are released.

On Sunday morning, a lot of the S2000s went off on their own routes to discover the hidden roads and scenery of Italy, some all the way up to the Alps. It was a very relaxing day in terms of organization and each owner and group could chose their own route and enjoyed their ride late into the evening culminating with the end of meet formal Gala dinner.

It was a great honour to meet Uehara San in person. He is such a genuinely kind person and he was always smiling, a great guy indeed. Throughout the entire event, he never stopped signing autographs and having photos with everyone.

Our guest of honour’s speech was the most emotional moment of the entire event. I can remember seeing many of us crying upon hearing his words, the most poignant part of his speech I have copied below:

Please take good care of your S2000, keep it by your side for long and enjoy it from the bottom of your heart. And share the quality and legacy of the S2000 with many friends so that the legend of the S2000 will continue for long.