The reason why British and European rides have such great flash and the owners take such great pride in their equipment is that there are no orginized traveling carnivals in Europe like we have here in North America. Families there own 1-5 rides and there for they can afford to spend a large percentage of their income for all the extras. City Fetes/ Festivals/ Markets ect. are run by a local commettee and in order to ensure your return you don't want to bring them something less than the best.
Also alot of those events last up to 1 month in length and you can afford to put up the extra flash, and only moving 4-7 times per year also cuts down on the wear and tear.
I hope that helps.