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Original poster

Council have cancelled all events for rest of the year

91 replies

Beebityboo · 26/06/2020 22:47

I've been sent an email from the council stating all large outdoor (and obviously indoor) events for the rest of the year are cancelled. No funfairs, no bonfire night, no Christmas celebrations. I know that safety is more important and I understand the decision but I'm still so sad. I feel rather hopeless tonight. I keep expecting to wake up and it will all be over Sad.

OP posts:
MinesAPintOfTea · 27/06/2020 00:07

Councils can't afford to make a loss if the event can't run fully this year. Also they face the same pressure as the rest of us of WFH, along with extra pressures of falling with managing covid restrictions in their area, extra pressure on social services etc

I can fully see why they have decided early not to try to run nice to have events this year, especially as there is a risk that the organisation cost and effort may be for nothing.

onedayinthefuture · 27/06/2020 00:09

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Burpalot · 27/06/2020 00:16

@onedayinthefuture don't you sound lovely! Good luck

FizzFan · 27/06/2020 00:34

Err, hadn't you heard? There's a worldwide pandemic happening at the moment.

Is there? Maybe people should talk about it more, I hadn’t heard.

Heaven forbid people might feel a bit of disappointment about events not going ahead when everything has been cancelled already this year. Back in your house and stare at the 4 wallls OP, anything else is literally murdering grannies.

ssd · 27/06/2020 00:37

That's shit and so depressing.

Willow2017 · 27/06/2020 00:38

Things starting to open up again doesn't mean this has gone away - it just means they have room for you in intensive care. For now. It will be back
God that trite soundbite is getting tedious. It's like a protective charm repeated whenever getting back to normal us mentioned.

It could be here forever like flu is the world supposed to stop forever?

LilBlackLab · 27/06/2020 00:42

death rate is climbing...beaches are packed.....i can see christmas going the same way tbh!

no trick or treating either

depressing

Willow2017 · 27/06/2020 00:45

I would like to see them try stopping guising round here!

FizzFan · 27/06/2020 00:46

The death rate isn’t climbing. 0 deaths in Scotland today.

BogRollBOGOF · 27/06/2020 01:02

@Burpalot

Things starting to open up again doesn't mean this has gone away - it just means they have room for you in intensive care. For now. It will be back
Even at the peak there were still intensive care beds avaliable. It's several weeks since the government stopped presenting the occupied intensive care beds as a percentage because it was below 10% and the briefings just switched to a raw number to maintain some impact.

The logistics of organising a larger scale event is difficult at the moment, especially with uncertainty about whether it will go ahead.
It's depressing seeing events like running races first go through postponment then being cancelled outright as the odds of being logistically viable are not encouraging.

Handsnotwands · 27/06/2020 05:25

I think this is likely due more to many councils being on the verge of bankruptcy than covid

A council has to pay for road closures / rubbish collection / security for these types of events and don’t have the budgets anymore

Vicbarbarkley · 27/06/2020 05:36

I think income is generated for the local area with these events and Councils will be reluctant to cancel without a great deal of thought.
I believe it will be because of the time and money they need to invest to plan, advertise, book people and places, only to have to cancel because of a local or national flare up. And whether we like it or not, they would have to cancel becuase God forbid anyone came down with the virus that could be traced to a Council funded event. The ambulance chasers would be out in force.

It us the sensibke, but sad thing to do.

SaskiaRembrandt · 27/06/2020 06:50

I think it's it likely to be budget related; a lot of council were already struggling financially.

LivinLaVidaLoki · 27/06/2020 06:58

@LilBlackLab

death rate is climbing...beaches are packed.....i can see christmas going the same way tbh!

no trick or treating either

depressing

The death rate is not climbing.

Total deaths this last 7 days 796. Previous days 980.

It will be as much of a financial decision as any. These things cost a fortune. Yes they also bring in revenue but if they end up cancelled then that's a huge loss when a lot of councils are being plunged into more debt by covid and its effects.

JimMaxwellantheshippingforcast · 27/06/2020 07:02

Our local council cancelled the Christmas fayre in March

AuntieStella · 27/06/2020 07:50

I think they've done the right thing. It's better than spending time and money for something you might need to call off. It's also bad for local businesses to be hoping for (profitable) events and stocking accordingly because they might happen. Sponsors (who may have had to pull out entirely) get a reprieve.

Council resources can be put towards recovery of services, improvement of outdoors services and providing an online option for libraries (and a coordinator for delivery/collection volunteers).

They might even be able to provide small grants to other organisations who do celebratory stuff (like The Rotary Club taking Father Christmas round on a lorry so households can see him one at a time outdoors)

But I think evens which attract spectators in crowds are likely to be off the cards, even outdoors, for this winter. We do not know what the covid will do in the trad cooler damper virus season, and I don't think anyone has an appetite for finding out by trying.

There was a thread earlier on in lockdown about his weird spring as this year because so many of the things we barely realised marked the turning of the year were not happening (Boat Race, Grand National, Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, ..... now extending to Guy Fawkes, Remembrance Day and onwards)

VoyageInTheDark · 27/06/2020 10:00

We've had an event for January 2021 cancelled here. Planning meetings and fundraising can't happen so it's been called off

Franticbutterfly · 27/06/2020 10:14

@Potatobug

Wow it’s amazing how many people have lost their jobs, businesses, income, relationships, sanity, but at least we didn’t catch a virus that we 99% would have recovered from anyway. And now, no events for the rest of the year. Wonderful! Just wonderful! Btw if that fucking mask we are supposed to be wearing is so brilliantly efficient, then why did we need a sodding lockdown? We could have gotten on with our lives as usual, only with the mask on our faces. But if it’s rubbish and useless then why force us to wear it? Anyone?
This!
raspran · 27/06/2020 10:15

@FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue

The council can't possibly know what the situation will be in 6 months time. No-one does.
It's better to cancel than waste money planning them that is then lost. I'm not making any 18th birthday plans for September for the same reason.
Cornettoninja · 27/06/2020 10:25

Even at the peak there were still intensive care beds avaliable

This is true but only because the rest of the country stopped. Had we carried on as normal with planned surgeries, the usual car accidents etc. there wouldn’t have been. My hospital increased their onsite capacity (and utilised it) as well as moved emergency inpatient care for non-covid patients to the local private hospital. There was some small capacity for the icu for non-covid sickness but nothing like what is usually available. The utilised capacity for and during the covid peak can’t just be measured through covid cases alone.

@Potatobug - what’s the U.K.’s rate of compliance with mask wearing? I don’t know the exact figure but I can see that it’s low just by looking around. There’s no way you can judge their efficacy based on the UK’s data. There is lots of evidence of their role from previous studies of the original SARS and MERS outbreaks but not one will claim it’s 100% the magic bullet.

bluemolly · 27/06/2020 10:39

@Potatobug

Wow it’s amazing how many people have lost their jobs, businesses, income, relationships, sanity, but at least we didn’t catch a virus that we 99% would have recovered from anyway. And now, no events for the rest of the year. Wonderful! Just wonderful! Btw if that fucking mask we are supposed to be wearing is so brilliantly efficient, then why did we need a sodding lockdown? We could have gotten on with our lives as usual, only with the mask on our faces. But if it’s rubbish and useless then why force us to wear it? Anyone?
Not sure if you meant to sound as goady as you do, but I’ll bite.

Masks may protect people from one type of spread and not all of them.

ssd · 27/06/2020 10:48

What do you mean one type of spread?

Vanillaradio · 27/06/2020 11:01

A lot of this is a) financial- they can't afford to lose any more money if the event is cancelled and b) because they can't do the planning/fundraising/logistical arrangements now that they would need to run an event in a few months time.
Doesn't mean they have a crystal ball and know for sure there's going to be a second wave.

Needtobepositive · 27/06/2020 11:24

I’m wondering if the pantomime will be on at Christmas time. It’s our Christmas tradition and the one thing we do that’s Christmassy. I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable going this year and sitting with the crowds anyway but I doubt it will happen as they may not be able to do rehearsals etc. Although obviously it’s not the end of the world, it’s quite sad.

DomDoesWotHeWants · 27/06/2020 11:29

I think it's fear.They can see that idiots are just not doing social distancing and realise it could be a disaster,