In light of the continued situation with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the UKs largest independent festival, Boomtown Fair has just announced that it will no longer be proceeding with the 2021 event and it will be postponed for the second consecutive year. The next instalment of the music and theatrical festival will now take place on 10th-14th August 2022.
The 66,000 capacity event which was sold out in February was due to return to the Matterley Estate, nr Winchester over 11th-15th August 2021 for the launch Chapter One: The Gathering. However, owing to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and critically the lack of a Government backed COVID specific insurance scheme to provide a vital safety net to events this summer, the organisers have come to the difficult decision to no longer go ahead in 2021.
In a statement from the organisers, Boomtown explains: “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. For an independent event as large and complex as Boomtown, this is a huge gamble of upto an eight figure sum and the financial risk is simply too high.” [Full Statement here]
Boomtown is a 5 day multi arts music and theatrical festival that is recognised for challenging and pushing the boundaries of creativity within the UK festival scene. Its evolving storyline underpins the festival which, when combined with the breadth of its musical programming and unrivaled set design and production values, culminates in a unique and totally immersive festival experience.
The organisers also cite the volume of unknowns still surrounding the events industry with regards to how they will be allowed to operate this summer:
“We have been doing everything within our power to try to find a solution to the conundrum of putting on a safe and well-run event to the sheer scale, complexity and intricate nature of Boomtown this summer. Unfortunately, without any clear indication of what size events will be able to take place, and the conditions in which we will be able to operate, we have come to the conclusion that time has simply run out for us to be able to proceed in a way that would live up to our high safety and production standards for the event we had planned.”
The festival has confirmed that all customers 2021 tickets will remain valid for the 2022 event and will automatically roll over. In 2020 over 77% of Boomtown ticket holders helped secure the future of the festival by rolling their tickets over. The event is again asking their customers who are in a position to do so, to help safeguard the festival into 2022. All ticketing, refund and peer-to-peer reselling information can be found in the full statement.
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