Chapel St Leonards carnival cancelled - but will be back next year

A statement from organisers of the annual event, which was due to take place on the first weekend in August, says: "Like most people the carnival committee have been following the progress of Covid 19 throughout this difficult time

"Although we are still 10 weeks from our carnival weekend, things would normally be very busy for the committee right now and we would be having regular meetings, finalising plans and still continuing with our year-round fund raising.

"Of course, everything is on hold at the moment and we are finding it difficult to organise anything or get commitments from some of our associates, such as those who would normally put floats in the parade or support is with sponsorships / prizes and other valuable support.

"The carnival relies on the support many people and businesses in the village, but of course all have been hit by the repercussions of the lockdown."

The committee said there were many other dilemmas to consider.

"It costs many thousands of pounds to stage the carnival each year, including big expenses like insurances, marquee hire, fees for marching bands and stage acts to name but a few," they said.

"If we spent all of that money and it turned out we were still in lockdown , the money would not be able to be replaced for the following year. Or we might be out of lockdown but people might be afraid to gather in public places.

"The money raised on carnival day goes exclusively to fund the following year's carnival, so a poor attendance would jeapordise the carnival the following year.

"How we wish we had a crystal ball! However, as we sadly don’t have one we must make a a difficult judgement as to how to continue with the carnival in the current situation .

"So it is with heavy hearts that we must announce that we have sadly decided to cancel this year’s carnival.

"We are desperately sorry as we know it is a highlight to many people in the summer but we promise we will be working hard to put on an even bigger extravaganza next year."

Stall holders, acts and other booked participants have been notified and many have transferred their bookings to the 2021 carnival.