Following the recent announcements of the UK Government delaying the easing of lockdown restrictions until July 19th, this year’s edition of the Black Deer Festival had to be cancelled. Black Deer is a festival celebrating Americana and Country music for three days and usually takes place in Eridge Park in Kent. It was due to take place on the weekend of June 25th to 27th.
This year’s line-up included international names such as Van Morrison, Frank Turner, Saving Grace featuring Robert Plant, Suzi Dian, Foy Vance, Band of Skulls, John Smith, Bess Atwell and more. However, organisers officially confirmed that the 2021 edition will not take place. They will be looking at bringing the same acts in 2022. In the statement released on social media, they said: “We can’t quite put into words how we are feeling right now. The delay by the Government on the easing of restrictions means we’re unable to bring you Black Deer Festival 2021. It’s devastating news for all connected with Black Deer. But we’ll be back in 2022”.
Meanwhile, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called for an urgent intervention from the Government to help small independent festivals, following the new COVID announcements. According to the AIF, with the reopening being postponed to July 19th, 93% of festivals with a capacity of over 5,000 could still happen this summer, but without insurance. Most of the festivals that were supposed to happen in June were blocked just a month before their happening, and the average cost of staging a festival is over £6 million.
“The AIF fully understands the rationale for delaying Step 4 of the lockdown roadmap. However, any measures that prevent festivals from operating fully have to be counterbalanced with effective support to ensure businesses can survive”, AIF CEO Paul Reed explained. “For those festival organisers that still have a chance of staging events after July 19, that support is government-backed insurance, which will give them the confidence to continue planning and commit the significant costs that entails. Ultimately, it is a political choice if the government does not support the sector with insurance at this stage, pushing festival businesses towards another cliff edge.”
