After Torino and Hamburg, the infamous Vans Downtown Showdown returns to Europe this summer to take over another major destination: London! And the best part is – there’s no entry fee! So if you fancy a bit of world class skate action for nada, make sure you head over to Old Spitalfields Market in East London on Saturday, 20 August 2011.

Here’s some more info taken from the official press release:
Twelve of the best skate teams are venturing from the far reaches of Europe for their chance to take part in a contest renowned to test skill, flare and creativity. Far removed from the usual format of any other skateboarding competition – the event will take place on special customised ramps, which are all designed by the invited Teams themselves. With the park layout being thrown out to the competing brands, the focus is not just on the riders ability and skills, but also on the individual Teams to redefine the concept of a skate obstacle and ultimately designing something original and in keeping with the authentic and murky London setting. Inspired by all the stories of one of Europe’s major historic Cities, you can expect to see some very special ramps to be built. Suffice to say, the spirit of the Ripper will be resurrected and features are going to be haunting, dark and of deathly inspiration. But it’s not only the Ripper that comes to mind, think Victorian Era, Cobbled streets, Sherlock Holmes, Gas Lamps, Gothic Churches, Pubs and Ales, The Royal Family, Oliver Twist and The Thames… the wealth of inspiration to draw from seems endless.

With Torino and Hamburg the previous settings for the European Vans Downtown Showdown, expectations this year are higher than ever before as Vans and the competitors push hard to surpass the already extremely high standard of the contest. With some of the top board brands in skateboarding already confirmed, expect to see the top Pros from Death Skateboards, Element Europe, Antiz, Superdead, Cliché, Blind Europe, Blueprint and many more doing what they can to secure their share of the crown jewels. For that matter, a combined prize total of 50’000 Euros should inspire enough carving and slashing to make old Jack proud.

The Vans Downtown Showdown concept was created for skaters by skaters and has been running globally for the last six years, each time creating unique Off the Wall ideas to be skated. Be ready to see some British flavour added to this renowned event as it continues to lead the way for future skate contests.

Entry to the Event is Free.