North Hertfordshire's Todd in the Hole 2021 festival has been cancelled.
Organisers of the family-friendly music festival set for Bury Wood, Todds Green, this July made the devastating decision to call off this year's event after the Prime Minister confirmed the long-feared delay of coronavirus lockdown easing.
After being slated for Monday, June 21 at the earliest, Step 4 of the government's roadmap out of lockdown – when social distancing restrictions are due to be fully lifted – won't now happen until Monday, July 19.
PM-delays-end-of-Covid-restrictions-by-up-to-four-weeks-over
Todd in the Hole was due to take place in the Hertfordshire countryside the weekend before – from Friday, July 16 to Sunday, July 18, 2021.
The Stevenage festival has now been postponed until 2022, with next year's scheduled dates being July 15 to July 17.
Last summer's 2020 festival was also called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Todd team posted on the festival's website: "Last night’s government announcement regrettably means that this year’s festival will not be taking place.
"We’ve put our heart and soul in to planning Todd 2021. We knew that nothing was guaranteed this year and that’s always been at the back of our minds, but to come so cruelly close and to miss the deadline for opening up by just one day is truly heartbreaking.
"We really believed that an event like Todd is exactly what our wonderful community needed this year. Just imagining all those smiling faces coming together with friends and family for a weekend to remember spurred us on to plan the most amazing festival for you."
The statement added: "The events industry is on its knees. So many festivals have already announced their cancellation or postponement, and this has a devastating effect on so many.
"From the artists who have spent so much of the last year out of work, to the food traders, to the production team, to the photographers, to our wonderful charity The East & North Herts Hospitals’ Charity who needed our support more than ever.
"Todd 2021 was going to be special, it was going to be magical, it was going to be unforgettable. But as with last year we find ourselves writing a cancellation announcement that we all continued to hope we wouldn’t have to write.
"We fully support any measures that need to be taken to get back to normal, to protect lives and to protect the NHS. So, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to throw everything we’ve got into ensuring 2022 is THE ONE!! And we’d love for you to join us on the ride!"
The festival's ticket partner, Ticketline, will be in touch with all ticket purchasers directly with regards to the transfer of tickets to 2022 or refunds.
"We’d be enormously grateful to those of you who are able to roll your tickets over to next year," added Team Todd.
Tickets for Todd in the Hole 2022 are on sale now via the festival's website at toddinthehole.co.uk
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