The Isle of Wight Council leader says Isle of Wight Festival 2021 should only go ahead should it be safe to do so.
Cllr Dave Stewart has been reacting to the news that this year's event has been rescheduled to take place in September.
It has been moved from June to accommodate the Government's roadmap announcement.
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Posted by Isle of Wight Radio on Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Cllr Stewart says he welcomes the announcement with "caution". He said:
“It is clearly good news that the festival is not happening in June as it attracts so many visitors and it would not be safe at that time – indeed, it would not comply with the government roadmap. However, I now understand there are proposals for the event to move to September instead.
“Although it is likely we will be out of lockdown and ‘open for business’ as an Island in September, this is not definite and any plans must be predicated on it being safe for the festival to proceed, which will ultimately be a decision based on public health grounds. We have come too far to throw away all our hard earned efforts over the past 12 months to keep the Island safe during the COVID pandemic.
“I appreciate the desire to recharge our economic recovery and there will be a number of events that, if they do take place, will help us on that journey. However, all must be safe to do so and I expect the Island's Safety Advisory Group (SAG) will be paying careful attention to this announcement as will Island residents."