Plug pulled on town parade
THE annual St Patrick’s Day Parade will not go-ahead in Huddersfield this weekend over coronavirus fears.
Organisers have been forced to pull the plug on Sunday’s event after many of the groups cancelled, leaving a depleted parade.
The move comes as all Premier League games and EFL fixtures across the country were also halted, as well as matches in the FA Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship, in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Just three days ago the Huddersfield event was still on.
But John McLoughlin, secretary of the Huddersfield St Patrick’s
Day Parade Association, said changes in the last few hours meant they were left with little choice.
He said: “We were still going ahead but things have really escalated today and we have had a lot of groups dropping out, ranging from schools and ladies groups, to footballers and even some of the band.
“At the end of the day, we had to listen to our community and quite a few of our patrons were uneasy about it.
“Having lost so many groups, and expecting to lose more, it is with a heavy heart of sadness that the 20th Huddersfield St Patrick’s Day Parade is cancelled.
“Over the years, we have walked through snow, storms, rain and sunshine. The weather has never been a factor, but this is very serious.
“It is a global pandemic and we’ve just found that people felt they’d rather not participate. We have to take their opinions into account.
“We are devastated to make this decision but we hope people understand and would like to thank you everyone for their loyal support throughout.”
The 1.5 mile annual parade starts and finishes at the Irish Centre on Fitzwilliam Street and traditionally draws in large crowds who line the town centre streets to enjoy a vivid array of floats and live music.
Among those pulling out was a group of walking pupils from St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, who postponed a number of other school events to help prevent the spread of the virus.