ORGANISERS of the Stanford-le-Hope musical festival, due to be held this summer, have called the event off.

A statement issued this evening (Tuesday, 17 March) says: "It is with great regret that the organisers of the Stanford Music Festival have decided to cancel this year's festival which would have been the 21st.

"We have not taken this decision lightly but in view of the fact that restrictions on large public gatherings are still likely to be in place in early July we feel this is the sensible option.

"A lot of the infrastructure costs for staging the event, more than £4,000, are required up to four weeks in advance and are usually covered in part by two of the organisers. It would be unfair to expect them to make this commitment when there is a very strong likelihood that the event would not be allowed.

"We would like to thank all of you that have attended over the last 20 years and hope that you understand the reason for the cancellation. We are determined to reach our milestone of 21 festivals so hopefully we can make next year's the best yet."

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