Council suspend all summer events until October 1

Oldham council have suspended all events scheduled for the summer until October 1 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The news was revealed in a letter from the council’s event coordinator to organisers, and hinted the date may be extended to incorporate subsequent months if needed.

The letter from Jack Child said: “I know you have all been waiting very patiently for an update on when we will be able to accommodate events again.

"Thank you for bearing with me in these unprecedented times.

“I have recently received an update from Oldham Council’s Board of Directors and political leadership on the stance we must take in the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Although we are now at a point where we can look at slowly returning to normality, we are not out of the woods yet and must still take measures to prevent another spike of the virus and preserve the safety of the public.

"Unfortunately, this means that events must yet again be suspended for a short while.

“The decision has been made to suspend events until October 1, 2020. 

"This date may be extended to incorporate subsequent months if needed.”

He went on: “I understand the eagerness that you must all feel to get things up and running again.

"There would be benefits to opening the door to events again, but this would come with it’s fair share of risk to the public. 

“Welcoming events too soon unfortunately comes hand-in-hand with welcoming a resurgence in the spread of Covid-19, potentially on a national scale.

"We must avoid this outcome at all costs and continue to support our NHS and our country.

"During this pandemic, we all play a role in maintaining public safety.

“I apologise that I must share this unfortunate news with you today.

"The current situation is tough for many, myself included.

"That being said, I have the upmost confidence that the decision to suspend events planned for July, August and September is what must be done to prevent any further spread of Covid-19.

“Please be patient and we will beat this together. If there are any changes I will provide updates to you all in due course.“

Frank Bolger, Co-Chair of Rotary Oldham Metro and Anthony Burke, Co-Chair at Rotary Saddleworth, head up the organising committee for the famous Saddleworth Show and WelliFest.

In a joint statement they said: “We took the sad decision to cancel both events this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

"We also took the decision, circumstances permitting, that we would hold a charity family fun day at Well-i-hole Farm the last weekend in September, building on the many contacts we have both for attractions and catering.

“The decision now taken by Oldham Council, which we fully understand and support that events cannot take place until October, means this must also be abandoned.

“We look forward to arranging even better and bigger events in 2021 and we have already set the dates as June 26 for WelliFest and June 27 for the Saddleworth Show."

Adrian Green is chair of Saddleworth Village Olympics, scheduled for September,which involves more than 800 children.

He said: “Unprecedented feels like an overused word just now, but there’s no other way to describe the world we find ourselves in.  

“The Saddleworth Olympics team met in both April and May via Zoom and continue to review the position based on government advice on group gatherings and social distancing.  

“Child and spectator welfare is at the forefront of our minds and while this year would have marked the 35th anniversary of the games, the committee are extremely mindful of the need to balance welfare with fitness and entertainment. 

“A final decision will not be made until the end of June when further guidance (if any) is available."

Look for further information on the Twitter account or via: www.saddleworthvillageolympics.co.uk

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