Youngsters from every corner of the world have shared a small part of their world as over 70 different countries have visited the Essex International Jamboree since 1927.

Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, British Guiana, Canada, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Eire, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gold Coast, Greece, Haiti, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Rhodesia, Seychelles, Scotland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States Of America and Wales.

The first Essex county Jamboree was held in Priory Park, Southend-on-Sea in 1927 and was visited by Scouts founder Robert Baden Powell. It wasn’t until twenty years later that a regular Jamboree in Essex was then held every four years and opened to Scouts from around the UK. By 1949 the first event was opened to international Scouts where a home hospitality was offered to overseas groups after the event.

By 1984 the event grew to include a new site and more capacity at the Essex County Show Ground at Great Leighs near Chelmsford.

By 1996 the event needed extra capacity and moved to a coastal location at Kirby-le-Soken near Walton on the Naze, where the numbers reached 5600 and by 2008 this exceeded 10,000.

1927 - Priory Park, Southend-on-Sea
1947 - Danbury Park, Chelmsford
1949 to 1980 - Belchamps Scout Campsite, Hockley
1984 to 1992 - County Show Ground, Great Leighs
1996 to 2008 - Devereux Farm, Kirby-le-Soken