Great East Swim: Blue-green algae spells end of popular mass event

Two popular mass swimming and running events in Suffolk have been forced to end by a combination of Covid and blue green algae.

The Great East Run and the Great East Swim will no longer be staged.

The company behind them said the Great East Run had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

The Great East Swim was also last held in 2019, but the 2020 event was called off because of the pandemic and last year's was postponed twice then cancelled because of high levels of blue-green algae at Alton Water.

The Great Run Company, which organised both events, said it had greatly enjoyed seeing people taking part.

“From the first firing of the start gun in 2017 to the last finisher crossing the line in 2019, we’ve enormously enjoyed delivering the Great East Run and seeing thousands achieve their goals and raise significant funds for charity," the company said.

"Unfortunately, following the Covid-enforced cancellation of the event in 2019 and 2020, as well as ongoing operational challenges, it is no longer viable for us to stage the event.

“For a very different reason the Great East Swim is no longer feasible due to ongoing challenges with blue-green algae which has caused the event to be impossible to stage in 2021.

"We have explored ways to mitigate this as well as looking for other locations, but unfortunately, we haven’t found a solution to the problem and we can’t continue to operate without confidence the event will go ahead."

Anyone who has entered the Great East Swim event will receive a full refund.