Boom Village, the one-off mini festival set up to replace the cancelled Boomtown, has now been cancelled itself due to rising COVID-19 rates across the UK.
Back in April Boomtown cancelled its 2021 event, citing a lack of a COVID-specific insurance policy from the UK government.
While all restrictions on social distancing and capacity limits for live shows in England will be removed on Monday (July 19) as the country enters the fourth and final stage of its route out of lockdown, cases continue to rise across the country.
As a result, Boom Village – which was set to be held from August 10-14 – has now cancelled its event. “We are truly sorry to have to say this again, but we have had to make the incredibly hard decision to cancel Boom Village,” the festival wrote in a statement.
“These past few days we have been back in the excruciating position of weighing up every possible scenario to see how we might be able to proceed. There is so much excitement out there for us to come together and host this beautiful festival but sadly the risks of holding the event now outweigh all the wonderful reasons for going ahead.”
We are truly sorry to have to say this again, but we have had to make the incredibly hard decision to cancel Boom Village.
More info & FAQ’s here: https://t.co/S7drrkIwiE pic.twitter.com/i9kRwtieFT
— Boomtown Fair (@BoomtownFair) July 14, 2021
The explanation added: “The core decision is due to the escalating cases of COVID-19 across the country, and the risks that widespread illness and self-isolation could have on our crew and contractors, which would result in us not having enough people to build and deliver the show to the high public safety standards we uphold.
“When we first came up with the concept of Boom Village we were so excited by the idea of a smaller show where we could trial new sustainable ideas. This was incredibly energising and we leapt into the project of bringing our much-loved festival community back together in a whole new way; with an intimate, locally focused and family-friendly event that put its ethos front and centre.
“We had devised a concept that could have worked in the current climate, despite all the existing issues such as a lack of insurance etc…” the festival added, saying that “the odds now feel stacked against us” with regards to holding the festival.
The message added that festival organisers believe the rising case rates “severely affect our ability to deliver a show where we could guarantee high levels of safety for all in attendance”.
A number of UK festivals are set to go ahead this month, including Latitude and Tramlines, which will both take part in the next stage of the government’s Events Research Programme (ERP).
The ERP has seen audiences attend a weekend of events in Liverpool, the BRIT Awards and Download Festival to investigate the safety of large crowds returning to events after the coronavirus pandemic.
Data published from the first stage of the ERP confirmed that just 28 people who attended pilot events researching the impact of large-scale gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic tested positive for the virus.
