In the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, East Midlands Chamber has seen the number of documents it processes to take items to the EU double, compared to the same time in 2023.
In July the Chamber saw a surge in requests for ATA Carnets – a travel document required by border officials when temporarily exporting items like sports equipment – twice as many as July 2024.
East Midlands Chamber International Trade Manager Lucy Granger said: “The Olympics seem to have heightened people’s awareness of the documents they need to have when exporting items like sporting equipment to the EU.
“In the same way an Olympic athlete doesn’t want to be told at the border that their javelin can’t go with them to France, people are realising – as we’ve seen by the doubling of requests we’ve had this July, compared to last – that to temporarily export items like a drum kit to play in a band, they’re going to need this paperwork sorting. An ATA Carnet tells those guarding international borders that the drum kit is going, then coming back to the UK.
“This summer we’ve had requests for things ranging from canoes to D-Day beacons and even a Porsche 991.”
