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Decision on future of Fairport’s Festival on June 28
17/06/2021
Risks are mounting for organisers in the face of this week’s delay to lockdown easing
A decision on the future of this year’s Fairport’s Cropredy Festival is set to be taken in two weeks time. In a statement issued this afternoon the organisers say they will decide if the festival will go ahead on June 28.
Writing on the official website Gareth Williams said they “aren’t giving up yet”, but the risks are increasing. They, alongside others in a similar situation, are unable to obtain cancellation insurance. In highlighting that a number of other events have been called off since the Prime Minister’s statement on Monday, Mr Williams said he hoped financial support would be made available to help rescue this summer’s festivals.
Mr William’s said: “The increasing number of cases of the Delta variant and the announcement of a 4-week delay to Step 4 has placed all remaining festivals this summer in a very difficult position and I am sure you are aware that quite a few have already postponed/cancelled this week as a result. Well, we’re not giving up yet!
“Whilst Her Majesty’s Government say they are confident about removing social distancing restrictions on 19 July, our industry has still been unable to obtain Covid cancellation insurance. This places us at serious risk if we commit to going ahead only to be forced to cancel at a later date. We remain hopeful that the Treasury will step in soon and help rescue the summer for festivals.
“The situation at Cropredy is that we are going to wait a further 2 weeks before making a final decision on 28 June. We cannot leave it any later than that. For now, we are still moving forward and will continue to monitor the situation. The festival associations such as the AIF and the AFO will continue to lobby HMG on our behalf for cancellation insurance. The work they have done for our industry throughout the pandemic has been extraordinary and we are extremely grateful to them.
“We have always been committed to delivering a safe festival for everyone involved and this remains our priority and while the cases of the Delta variant remain this high, the likelihood of a move to Step 4 remains a hope rather than a certainty. However, HMG are confident which gives us cause for optimism.
“We, like you, are desperate for the festival to go ahead this year after the huge amount of hard work that has gone into preparing it and we hope to have some good news in the next couple of weeks.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam