Hereford’s Beer on the Wye Festival has fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic its organisers have announced this morning.
The festival that was due to from 9th – 11th July has been cancelled due to there being no guarantee that all restrictions will be lifted by this date.
A post on the festivals Facebook page said:
First the bad news: unfortunately BEER ON THE WYE XVI – which was due to take place across the weekend if the 9th to 11th July – has fallen victim to the Coronavirus pandemic, and is cancelled for 2021. We have been working tirelessly for months to try and find a way to avoid this happening, but even with the emerging positive news on the current vaccination programme, it has just not been possible.
It would be irresponsible to go ahead with the likelihood of further spreading the virus. With the festival’s trademark crowds, party atmosphere and its compact site, and without any guarantee being available that there would be no Covid restrictions still in place, it has finally proved impossible to proceed.
This is a terrible shame, and we know many of you will be disappointed – as we are too. However, there is some good news.
We are now actively looking at the possibility of running an alternative pub-based beer and cider trail in the city sometime in the late summer.
The idea being to still offer you a beer and cider fix, and hopefully it’ll also give our beleaguered pubs a welcome boost too.
Watch this space for more news on that. And, of course, we are now doubly-determined that Beer on the Wye will come back with a bang (and plenty of beer, cider and music) over the weekend of the 8th to 10th July 2022. WE WILL BE BACK!
PHOTO CREDIT: Beer On The Wye Facebook Page
