Boardmasters: A hole left in the Cornish economy as the UK's biggest music and surf festival is cancelled again
Watch Grace Pascoe's report.
The UK’s biggest international surf and music festival festival, Boardmasters, is cancelled for the second year in a row leaving a hole in the local Cornish economy.Around 50,000 festival goers would have been arriving in Newquay on Wednesday 5 August for the music and surf festival, if it were not for the coronavirus pandemic. The north coast festival usually generates more than £40 million for the local economy.
This summer's festival would have marked the 40th year of Boardmasters. It would have also been the first since 2018 as organisers had to cancel last year's festival due to concerns about the weather.Despite pulling out 'all the stops' for this years festival, organisers have been forced to close it once again due to the coronavirus pandemic.The closure is once again a devastating blow for both organisers and local businesses.
The Kings of Leon, The 1975 and Skepta were all lined up to be performing at Watergate bay over the coming days to perform for crowds of 50,000 people.
Speaking to ITV News, Councillor Geoff Brown from Cornwall Council said: “For Boardmasters and the event it's absolutely tragic.
"I think in a normal year it would be quite significant, less so this year because the fact that Covid 19 has impacted on all of our businesses and all of our businesses are recovering, it is very different."
Pete Cowling, who owns the Watergate Bay site Trebelsue Farm, told ITV News: "We're all focussed on next year and already talking to the organisers about planning and what changes we're going to make. We're 100% focussed on having them back next year.”
In place of the festival, a new drive-in cinema will be hosting more than 200 cars and vans on the cliff site where Boardmasters would usually take place.
The team behind surf publication Wavelength will be presenting a programme of cult classic movie nights from late July through to the start of September.
Guy Hayler, Director of Wavelength, said: "We run Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout August until the first weekend in September with cult classics and family friendly films as well, ranging from Point Break to the Fishermen's Friends going all the way through to September, there should be plenty more beautiful weekends."
See the full Boardmasters statement below:
CEO of Vision Nine, Andrew Topham said, “Today feels particularly significant as we would have been welcoming the first wave of excited festival-goers to our amazing Watergate Bay site and our Surf Village at Fistral Beach for Boardmasters. We had pulled out all the stops for Boardmasters 2020 and it was set to be our best event yet with an incredible line-up of acts, so naturally the whole team is deeply saddened that it isn’t taking place this year.
“That said, we’re looking forward to returning to our sensational location when the time is right and safe to do so. We and the wider team put our heart and soul into the Boardmasters festival every year and we’ve been hard at work planning Boardmasters 2021 which will be a phenomenal comeback. I would like to wholeheartedly thank our entire Boardmasters team, many of whom are based in Cornwall, our loyal fans, the artists and acts, and of course the local businesses and wider community who support us so determinedly every year. We cannot wait to back in Newquay next Summer.”