Lancaster Music Festival 2020 cancelled due to Covid-19

In a statement released today, festival director Stuart Marshall said the five day event which takes place in pubs, clubs, shops, cafes and public spaces across the city of Lancaster would not be going ahead this year.

The festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019, attracts tens of thousands of people to the city, as well as musicians from across the world.

Stuart said: "Like many other large-scale events across the country Lancaster Music Festival has had to take the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 festival which was due to take place in October.

"The festival aims to bring together large numbers of the community to enjoy music, dance and workshops in outdoor public spaces and indoor venues both large and small.

"International acts from all over the world are also a key feature of the festival.

"It seems increasingly likely that social distancing and travel restrictions will still be in place in October which makes it very difficult for the festival team to plan and deliver a festival of its scale that will be safe for Lancaster, its visitors, performers, venues and volunteers."

He said that event organisers had tried really hard to find ways to make this year's festival happen but unfortunately circumstances mean that it would not be possible.

He added: "Anybody who has attended before will know that the festival’s aims and ethos are the exact opposite of social distancing!”

"Funding has also been affected by the ongoing situation regarding Covid-19.

“A festival that is 95 per cent free to attend can only exist with the help of grant funding and sponsorship and such funding is quite rightly being diverted to ensure that front-line services are maintained and businesses kept going.

"Even without the social distancing rules being in place it would have been impossible to stage a festival on the same scale as in previous years.”

He said the LMF team are continuing to plan for the future and hope that the festival will be able to return in 2021.