A popular summer show has been cancelled – six months before it was due to go ahead.
The Thornton-le-Dale Show was scheduled for 4 August. But the show society has decided to pull this year’s event.
In a statement they said: “It would have been irresponsible not to do so with the future so unclear.”
They said that the guidance they have received over measures required to keep the event safe was “quite daunting”.
“One likes to think the situation will improve by August, but we anticipate controls will still have to be in place and that there will be no quick return to ‘normal’,” organisers said.
“We have already been warned that this will be a ‘marathon, not a sprint’, and it is likely, therefore, that most of this year will see us living under continuing restrictions of one form or another.”
‘All but impossible’
It would be “all but impossible for us to comply with the ‘Stay Safe’ guidance” the statement said.
“We will need to increase our manpower substantially and commit to a great deal of additional expenditure which we simply cannot afford to do in such a risky environment.
“If we go ahead with the show, we will be taking a tremendous gamble; are there the exhibitors, traders and visitors willing to come to a show – and bearing in mind the guidance received, will they be able to?”
It is due to return on 3 August, 2022.
The decision calls in to question whether more of North Yorkshire’s hugely popular agricultural shows will go the same way.
A decision is yet to be made on the biggest of all – the Great Yorkshire Show.
Nigel Pulling is chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society which organises the Great Yorkshire Show.
He said: “We continue to monitor the latest government rules on events and await further announcements with keen interest.
“We are keeping an open mind about arrangements for the Great Yorkshire Show this year and we will continue to explore our options. Any updates about this year’s Great Yorkshire Show will be shared on the Show’s website and social media channels.”