Cropredy 2021

[Shane (Skirky)]

I had a similar conversation with an informed friend last night. Given the current administration, they are more likely to underwrite events where they have a vested interest through their friends and relations (remember Goodwood last year?). That Download went ahead as a test event is probably more to do with the financial muscle of Live Nation - the promoters - rather than any desire to see the metal hordes enjoying themselves. I can’t see the good folk of Fairport Towers, or indeed The Levellers, having that sort of lobbying power.

[Andy]

Please, folks, just wait until the announcement from Fairport Towers.

Speculation is futile and the chuntering is filling our screens.

Just wait.

Andy in rare Admin mode

[GubGub (Al)]

Please, folks, just wait until the announcement from Fairport Towers.

Speculation is futile and the chuntering is filling our screens.

Just wait.

Andy in rare Admin mode

To be fair Andy, we are not really talking about Cropredy. We are speculating on the government's failure to underwrite Covid cancellation insurance generally, which perhaps deserves its own thread rather than this one.

But I would point out that the discussion was started by Colin, the site owner so to stifle it would seem a bit harsh even if it does not exactly belong here.

[Andy]

I'm just asking for a brief hiatus.

[Shane (Skirky)]

Speculation is futile and the chuntering is filling our screens.

I agree that speculation is obviously purely that, but chuntering and filling our screens is, after all, what we’re here for in the first place, aren’t we?

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

Speculation is futile and the chuntering is filling our screens.

I agree that speculation is obviously purely that, but chuntering and filling our screens is, after all, what we’re here for in the first place, aren’t we?

Normally I would say that TAW is mostly opinions and speculation. It's understood that it's unofficial.

However in this case, because there is only one day to go, so let's go with Andy's request.

[bob_g]

And whatever they decide, we all back them to the hilt, I’m sure! Hard times, hard choices.

[Dan O.]

Announcement on the website now !

[Andy]

The statement.

"Hello Fairporters,

I’m very sorry to have to inform you that we have finally run out of time to stage Fairport’s Cropredy Convention this year. We’re left with no other choice than to postpone our festival until 11-13 August 2022. We have reached the point where we’d need to spend BIG money without any certainty we could go ahead.

Like the rest of the festival industry, we’ve tried everything we can to keep going but I’m afraid we would be placing Cropredy’s future in serious jeopardy if we were to wait any longer. The dilemma we are facing is very simple – go ahead and risk potentially going out of business or postpone for a year and live to fight another day.

So far, despite over six months of lobbying, the government has failed to support any form of Covid-related cancellation insurance scheme for the festival industry. Also, there has been no guidance on what mitigations might be required post Step 4. This has made it effectively impossible to plan this year’s event.

I have spoken to all the acts booked for Cropredy this year. They (and their representatives) have provisionally agreed to transfer the bookings to the same days and times in 2022. This means we will carry forward the same great line-up into 2022. I am sincerely grateful to the acts, their managers and agents for their understanding and support.

All tickets purchased for the 2020 and 2021 festivals will automatically roll over to 2022. This will help us keep the festival going throughout the coming months while we prepare for next summer.  I want to thank you all for the understanding you’ve shown in this. Of course, if you can’t attend in 2022 you will be entitled to a refund*.

I also want to thank everyone involved in the planning of the festival so far. They’ve worked through some of the most difficult challenges our industry has ever known. We are grateful for the Culture Recovery Fund grants we’ve received - as intended, the funds have filtered through to our suppliers and helped them keep going through these lean times.

The last 15 months have been an incredibly frustrating time for all musicians and Fairport are no exception. We are obviously in regular contact and I know they were really looking forward seeing everyone at Cropredy next month. Having to postpone comes as a bitter blow to them.

This is a pretty emotional time in the Festival Office as you can imagine. It is the second festival I have had to postpone – on my watch! However, I promise that we will return and when we do it will be AMAZING!

Again, if you can hold on to your tickets, please do. Knowing you will be with us again next year means a great deal to us at this time.

We will see you in the field at Cropredy next year but until we do, on behalf of all at Team Cropredy, please look after yourselves and each other.

Gareth Williams
Festival Director

*If you can’t roll your tickets over to 2022 and require a refund, please contact The Ticket Factory. I shall publish a link later today, here on the websbite. Cropredy is not the only festival to postpone in the last few days so please be patient with The Ticket Factory staff who are all still working from home. Your funds are secure and they will deal with your claim as quickly as they can"

[Bridgwit (Bridget)]

Oh  

[Amethyst (Jenny)]

Bugger… in floods here… 😥😥😥

[Poor Will (Bill)]

Gutted, but not at all surprised.

[David W]

Wonder how it will impact on the village - local shop / pub takings have been underwritten by the festival for years? How about the fringe, maybe still a decent day out is possible.

DW

[Dan O.]

Not a total surprise but still sad.
I'm personally sadder about this year being postponed than last year - last year we could keep our heads down and accept that we were slap bang in the middle of a pandemic, but this year there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
I must confess to not having bought a ticket, I was going to wait and see if it was going ahead before committing myself, and now the answer's out there.
This is very sad for everyone involved - crossing multiple body parts for it to happen in 2022 !

[Tim Fletcher]

Bugger… in floods here… 😥😥😥

You aren’t alone. Hadn’t realised how much this announcement would affect me. The weather today just about sums it all up. Take care everyone.

[Field 7 is Heaven (Trev)]

The Country is coming out of all lockdown restrictions on July 19th. The Government are making positive noises about bringing this forward.
90% of all Uk citizens would have been fully vaccinated by August. There was all but no chance of cancellation if they had gone ahead.

Just don't understand this decision at all. Wondering what the real motive is. Were ticket sales poor???

I expected to get crucified for holding this view from those who think FC can do no wrong. But it is my opinion.

I hope Gerry has the strength to go ahead with Field 8 and get in some of the acts surprisingly unemployed on the dates.

[PhilipK]

Sad, but not too surprised, given the (health/financial/other) risks that would have been involved. We'll roll our tickets over again.

For those who still want a fringe festival, I hope that the views of the villagers (who may/may not want an influx of visitors/revenue) will be taken into account.

And for the next election, I hope that everybody will consider their chosen candidate's support for the arts when voting!

[GubGub (Al)]

Sad for everyone who was hoping to go but I am not surprised and I think it is the right decision. Pretty much for the reasons we suspected too. Clearly there are reasons why the government has been reluctant to support the festival industry by underwriting cancellation insurance. Whether these are caution, cost or politics we may never know but there seems to be a clue in the sort of events that they have allowed or enabled to proceed.

[JeremyRS]

The Country is coming out of all lockdown restrictions on July 19th. The Government are making positive noises about bringing this forward.
90% of all Uk citizens would have been fully vaccinated by August. There was all but no chance of cancellation if they had gone ahead.

There is absolutely no guarantee that all lockdown restrictions will be lifted on July 19th.  They weren't this month were they?  If there were any distancing restrictions still in place the festival would not have been financially viable as I doubt you could get more than a third of the normal attendance in and whatever the break even figure is it's a lot higher than that.

[ColinB]

The Country is coming out of all lockdown restrictions on July 19th. The Government are making positive noises about bringing this forward.

That remains to be seen. Over the weekend the England A v Scotland A rugby match was cancelled due to players testing positive and track and trace is still causing many to self isolate including high profile people like Jo Konta and Ben Wallace.

It's all very well for the new Health Sec to say he wants everything to get back to normal ASAP but pretending that we don't have an increasing problem with the Delta variant is dangerous and irresponsible.

I'm due to be going down to London for my aunt's funeral at the end of next week and I'm feeling more than a little anxious about travelling south.

As for Cropredy, sad news but not surprising.