THE BAND which organise the biggest music festival in Oxfordshire have called off this year's event – the latest in a long line of cancellations blamed on lack of direction and support from the Government.

Folk-rock act Fairport Convention today announced that their Cropredy Festival has been postponed for the second time.

The three-day event, officially named Fairport’s Cropredy Convention – but known to most music lovers as simply 'Cropredy' or 'Fairport' – had been scheduled to take place on August 12-14 but has been pulled, with tickets rolled over to next year.

The band hope the current line-up of acts will be carried forward. Artists booked to appear this year have provisionally agreed to transfer their bookings to 2022. Highlights are expected to include Trevor Horn Band, Clannad, Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited, Richard Thompson, and. of course, the hosts who both open and close the festival.

Next year's rescheduled event will take place from August 11-13 at its usual site near Banbury.

Cropredy now joins Truck Festival, at Steventon; Cornbury in Great Tew; Riverside in Charlbury; and Oxford's Cowley Road Carnival, in cancelling this summer's events.

Festival Director Gareth Williams said: “We’re left with no other choice than to postpone our festival again.

"We have reached the point where we’d need to spend big money but without any certainty we could go ahead. The dilemma we are facing is simple – proceed 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.”

He added: “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 go ahead.”

Oxford Mail:

Mr Williams said tickets purchased in 2020 and 2021 will be valid for the rescheduled festival and urged festival-goers to hold onto their tickets to keep the event on a firmer financial footing.

He said: “Ticket buyers who can’t attend next year will be entitled to a refund, but we hope people will hang on to their tickets until next year.

"This will help us keep the festival going throughout the coming months while we prepare a great weekend of music for next summer.”