Wolverhampton Council cancels outdoor events programme due to Covid-19
Wolverhampton Council has announced the cancellation of its autumn and winter outdoor events programme – including Christmas light switch on events – due to coronavirus restrictions.
The council usually organises several large, public outdoor events between October and December, including LGBT+ Pride, Diwali, bonfire night and Christmas light switch ons.
But with the city's high Covid-19 infection rate and subject to local coronavirus restrictions, the authority has announced the events will no longer take place.
Where possible, the council will be working with partners to organise safe alternative ways to celebrate the occasions online and via social media, with details in due course.
Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment, said: "I don’t think this decision will come as a great shock to anyone, the pandemic means that large public events are not an option this year.
“There’s no way you can make events like these, which bring thousands of people together in close proximity to each other, be both safe and commercially viable, so we have had to take the difficult decision to cancel them in their normal format."
He added: “However, we still want to mark them and are looking at creative ways to do just that which will have an online focus.
"We have thousands of people who follow the council on social media and a website that gets a huge number of hits, so we need to utilise these channels to ensure we can still come together virtually.
“I know people will miss these fantastic family events, but they will also understand the need to be responsible and put public safety first at this time.
"Let us hope that 2021 will be different and we can once again deliver a brilliant programme of events for our city.”
