FOLK festival organisers say the popular Warwick event will go ahead this summer.
Uncertainty over covid restrictions, ticket sales and audience numbers, as well as setting-up costs that cannot be recovered, has meant many music festivals either pulling the plug for 2021 or appealing to the government to step in and underwrite them.
But despite the widely-reported cancellations, Warwick Folk Festival director Dick Dixon has confirmed the weekend, planned for July 15 to 18 this summer, is still intended to go ahead.
After being forced to take a year off in 2020, the festival will be returning at its new Castle Park site and organisers are working hard to make sure everything will be in place for a fun and safe three days of folk music making.
Dick said: “We have a great new site and we’ll be set up to keep within the government guidelines for social distancing. We’ll have more toilets, plenty of hand-washing facilities and we even have an extra field if people need to be kept further apart.”
Festival chiefs are also hoping the difficulties of travelling will boost the number of people looking for somewhere to visit in the UK when they start planning time off in the summer. The ‘stay-home’ trend has already been noticed in the retail sector.
He added: “You can’t buy a tent at the moment – so many people are planning to stay in this country and look for a holiday here. Festivals will be the perfect opportunity to get a break.
“We will always be sticking to the government guidelines. We may have to cut the number of people we can let in, but we’re adamant we’ll go ahead and provide something the town, and our many lifelong supporters across the country, can look forward to this year.”
Warwick Folk Festival opens on July 15 2021. Visit warwickfolkfestival.co.uk for details.
