What Happens When a Community Believes — GO Wild Area Doncaster

On 16 November 2025, Raiding Doncaster and Beyond hosted ‘Pokémon GO Wild Area: Community Celebration Doncaster’, a Pokémon GO in-person event that brought thousands of players into the city.

For one weekend, Doncaster became THE Pokémon GO destination. Trainers travelled in from across the UK and beyond to take part in an event built, delivered, and supported by a team of passionate Community Ambassadors from across the North of England. A team proud to represent the City of Doncaster. It was large, complex and ambitious… and it worked.

Now, with figures confirmed and photos beginning to be cleared, we can finally begin to tell the full story — how this weekend came together, what it meant for the local community in the city, and why it matters far beyond two days in November.

By the end of the weekend, local meet-ups and Niantic’s in person event in the city had hosted over 7,000+ trainers, with 4,000-5,000 present at peak times on the Sunday.

These numbers blew our expectations out of the water for an event in Doncaster. It represents scale, and scale isn’t just about numbers.

It’s about movement, flow and how a community responds when thousands of people choose to join them on their turf.

Throughout the weekend, parks filled steadily, routes were active and the Corn Exchange became a point of connection for locals and visitors alike. It brought a vivid sense of shared spaces — a reflection on the kindness and soul of what makes Doncaster such a great city.

This wasn’t sudden success. It’s the result of almost a decades worth of work from the community group’s founder, Annie, and a year spent building local meet-ups and initiatives to get people outside, moving and connecting in safe public spaces led by Tylae, Annie, Kieran GG, Kieran M, Liam, Mike, local leaders, guides and partners.

It’s the result of a community that believes in it’s right to exist and thrive.

The energy for this level of scale didn’t start big.

It started small. In a city people love to underestimate.

Doncaster at times gets looked down upon, talked down, overlooked… So we built it up anyway.

Stemming all the way back from the groups first meet-up for Regidrago Elite Raids in Cantley Park on March 11th 2023, and restarting meet-ups on October 27th 2024 for Gigantamax Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur’s debut — We ran meet-ups for sometimes a handful of players. We kept going when growth was slow, or dipped, or it was easier to stop.

But belief doesn’t come from numbers. It comes from determination, hard work, a passion to provide something positive, and refusal to disappear.

One day, you’re organising Mankey Community Day for 11 locals.

The next, your community is trusted to host a Niantic in-person event for 7,000 trainers.

That doesn’t happen by chance. It happens when a community backs itself, and proves it belongs.

Across the GO Wild Area weekend, Doncaster felt busy in a way that was exciting rather than overwhelming. From early in the day through to the evening, players moved steadily between parks, routes, raids and meet-up points, with familiar faces and new ones crossing paths constantly.

The Corn Exchange quickly became a natural meeting point. Trainers dropped in to regroup, trade, take a break, or plan what was next, while outside the city continued to flow around the event. Parks stayed active, routes were well used, and groups formed and re-formed throughout the day as people moved together.

What stood out was how easy it felt to be part of it. Families played alongside experienced trainers, visitors mixed seamlessly with locals, and first-time attendees found themselves welcomed into groups without hesitation. There was excitement on the day, but also patience, kindness, and a shared understanding that everyone was there for the same reason.

This is the part of the weekend that’s hard to capture in numbers alone. Check out the photos below followed by a photo album from the event!

If you were there, these moments will feel familiar.

If you weren’t, this is what Doncaster experienced.

When I created this group with a few friends back in 2020, none of us could have ever imagined hosting an in-person event.

Our vision was simple, a friendly place where all trainers could come together to socialise while catching some pokemon, a Pokemon family.

Watching that vision get picked up by Tylae, Gg, Get Doncaster Moving, CA’s from across North England, Group leaders across Yorkshire and Niantic has been unbelievable and awe inspiring.

I cannot wait to see what we come up with next. And I cannot wait to explore every part of this beautiful island with all of you. I will see you all out there 💜

From Castleford Community Ambassador, TheProffy:

Community Ambassadors were invited to join together, and pitch locations for an event like this to be held. The North of England CAs quickly decided that the best approach was to work together as one big group.

We made the decision to nominate Doncaster, an odd choice to outsiders, but an obvious one to us. The groundwork laid by the RDAB team meant we knew from the outset, that Doncaster would be able to host an incredible event.

Our team consisted of people from Liverpool to Newcastle, who all brought their knowledge, passion and creativity. But also importantly, were prepared to put aside their own agendas, to help make this event a shared success.

This was our first event as a team, but we are confident it will not be out last. This was proof that our methodology worked, that bringing us together allowed us to achieve a greater success, than acting individually.

So wherever we go next, we wish to remind you, that we are our individual communities, but we are also one shared community. And as your Community Ambassadors we look forward to welcoming you to our next big event, whenever, or wherever it may be.

GO Wild Area: Doncaster wasn’t just about one weekend. It was a marker — of how far this community has come, and what becomes possible when people choose to believe in their city and each other.

It signalled cross-region collaboration, bringing together ambassadors and communities from across the North of England.

For Doncaster, it showed what can happen when a place often overlooked is trusted with something ambitious. For the community, it reaffirmed that years of steady work, care, and consistency matter. And for everyone who took part, it created moments that will be remembered long after the event itself!

As we flick through the GOWA Photo Album below, we’re not just looking back - we’re carrying this forward. The connections made, the confidence gained, and the pride felt across the weekend don’t disappear once the event ends.

As a team, we want to continue this and create an impact in our City of Doncaster and encourage others in their cities to do the same thing. Let’s team up and encourage exploration past our cities borders. As many reading this will know, the best moments when playing Pokemon GO don’t come from walking down the road or following a small route loop. They come from travelling by bus, train or car to somewhere new. Let’s continue that.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, supported each other, and helped make this happen. Thank you for choosing Doncaster. Thank you for believing in what a community can build.

This wasn’t the end of something. It was proof of what comes next.

To the local Doncaster crowd who come out to every meetup, and take part in every activity - YOU did this.

From 8 to 8,000 in 12 months.

We are all, proudly, Raiding Doncaster and Beyond. And we’ll meet you out there again in the near future! 🥳 🎉