Bonfire Night is cancelled for 2020 following Covid restrictions

Nottingham City Council has today announced the cancellation of its annual Bonfire Night and fireworks display.

The popular annual event was due to be staged at its regular home of the Forest Recreation Ground on Thursday 5 November.

It follows previous Covid-related event cancellations of Splendour, the Nottingham Beach, Riverside Festival, numerous community events and Goose Fair. Many other Bonfire Night plans elsewhere across the country have already been shelved.

As with other cancelled events, the council’s Events team considered possible options that would have allowed the event to proceed, but with social distancing and other Covid-safe measures in place. The event normally attracts around 40,000 people over a five-hour period, so in the end this proved impossible.

 As with Goose Fair, there were further potential implications for visitors to safely travel to and from the event, with large numbers normally making use of public transport.

 Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “Bonfire Night is one of our most popular free events, which is valued by many Nottingham residents. I’m therefore really disappointed to have an announce its cancellation, especially following on from other much-loved major events over the past few months."

“I hope very much that the event will return with a bang in 2021.”