PARTY AT THE PARK IS OFF Scottish Government slammed for lack of support
Organisers of a music festival set to take place in Perth next month have slammed the Scottish Government after they were forced to pull the plug.
Around 18,000 music and comedy fans had been expected to attend the inaugural Party at the Park on the South Inch from August 20 to 22 to watch bands like the Kaiser Chiefs and The Charlatans.
But the event has now been cancelled and in a statement festival organisers said they had been “particularly let down by a lack of communication and guidance from [the] Scottish Government”.
They added: “There seemed to be no understanding that our events take months to plan. Relying on three-weekly updates, conflicting advice and unclear guidance made it impossible to give assurances to our customers, artists, staff and traders.
“Wewerealsodisappointedthat [the] Scottish Government could not deliver an insurance policy for events.
“Although we recognise that this is a reserved matter and the responsibility of the UK Government, we felt that if there had been a real willingness to get events in Scotland back on, more could have been done.
“Sadly, Scotland is lagging behind our counterparts in other areas of the UK and we genuinely fear we won’t be the last festival to cancel this year. Another year without events for the thousands of freelancers and staff in this industry is not sustainable.
“We are already seeing a drain of talent and culture to events and festivals down south. We had been told six months ago by Scottish Government that they could not envisage a scenario where events are allowed to take place in England but not in
Scotland. This is clearly not the reality when events with capacities of up to 200,000 have taken place south of the border.”
Perth and Kinross Council and Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart were, however, praised for the support and encouragement given to the event.
Mr Wishart said he was“hugely disappointed”that the festival had been cancelled but added that he“totally understands”the organisers reasonings.
He also said the biggest risk was the event not having its insurance backed by the UK Government.
He added:“Many other countries across Europe have set up government-backed insurance funds for events, but even after a lot of cross-party pressure, the UK Government has failed to provide something similar.
“I fully appreciate the frustration expressed by organisers and by ticket holders.”
The announcement came just days before the region moves to level zero COVID restrictions with a move out of restrictions still expected on August 9.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“We want event organisers to be able to plan future activity with confidence, but we must continue to move very carefully to ensure continued suppression of COVID-19.
“We know that music festivals and local authorities need guidance on what will be required when we move beyond level zero and we are working to make sure that guidance is available as soon as possible.”
They added:“Operation of the insurance market is reserved to the UK Government.
“The Scottish Government has been pressing the UK Government to take action in this area for a considerable period of time to help event organisers proceed with confidence when planning events.”
A spokesperson for the UK Government said it was “providing unprecedented support for the sector through our Culture Recovery Fund”.
They added:“We understand the challenges live events have in securing indemnity cover and are exploring what further support may be required from step four once the sector is able to reopen.
“Our ongoing, science-led Events Research Programme is also testing how COVID certification and other measures can help ensure events can take place safely.”
Tickets will automatically rollover to 2022 but anyone wishing for a refund must apply by July 31. See www. partyatthepark.scot for more information.