Last modified on Tue 20 Apr 2021 10.57 EDT
A trickle of festival cancellations is poised to âbecome a floodâ, with more than nine in 10 independent events privately indicating they may not go ahead, senior industry figures have said, after Boomtown festival became the third in a week to cancel.
Boomtownâs announcement on Tuesday morning came days after the arts festival Shambala and the indie rock festival Barn on the Farm announced last week that they would not go ahead. All three cited the financial risk of staging events that could be shut down at a momentâs notice by a reimposition of Covid restrictions.
Boomtown Fair has cancelled its 2021 event, citing a lack of insurance support from the UK government.
The Winchester-based festival is one of a number of events to have cancelled their 2021 editions in recent weeks, citing worries over large financial losses should they be forced to postpone their 2021 editions later this year due to delays in the UK government s current COVID-19 roadmap.
In a statement explaining the decision to cancel the 2021 edition, Boomtown s organisers said: “After almost half a year of collective campaigning to the government, sadly COVID-specific cancellation insurance for events still does not exist at this point in time. This means anyone putting on an event this year, will be doing so without the safety net of insurance to cover them should COVID prevent them from going ahead in any capacity.
Covid-cautious festival cancellations dampen ‘great British summer’ hopes Damien Gayle
A trickle of festival cancellations is poised to “become a flood”, with more than nine in 10 independent events privately indicating they may not go ahead, senior industry figures have said after Boomtown festival became the third in a week to cancel.
Boomtown’s announcement on Tuesday morning came days after the arts festival Shambala and the indie rock festival Barn on the Farm announced last week that they would not go ahead. All three cited the financial risk of staging events that could be shut down at a moment’s notice by a reimposition of Covid restrictions.
The Quietus | News | Events Could Be Axed Within Days Without Insurance Scheme thequietus.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thequietus.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.