A gala-day scene from the last Big Meeting, in July, 2019 THE Durham Miners’ Gala has been cancelled for the second year running due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Durham Miners’ Association (DMA), which organises the annual mass gathering on city Racecourse on the second Saturday in July, said it took the decision “reluctantly” after discussions with partner organisations. Events moved online last year early in the Covid crisis and the 2021 planned gala, on Saturday July 10, was to have been the 150th Big Meeting. In a letter to banner groups, trade unions and “Gala partners”, DMA secretary Alan Mardghum said the time scale of the Government’s announced ‘roadmap’ to recovery made it difficult to put everything in place to stage the events safely.