Seaham Food Festival cancellation ‘sad but necessary’

This year’s Seaham Food Festival has been cancelled to support efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Durham County Council announced the “sad but necessary” decision to call off the event, which was due to take place in the town on Saturday and Sunday of June 13 and 14.

Traders, partners, guests and sponsors have all been informed of the decision and those who had booked stalls will be refunded.

The first Seaham Food Festival was held in 2019 and attracted 14,000 people to the town, boosting the local economy by tens of thousands of pounds.

Gill O’Neill, the council’s acting head of culture, sport and tourism, said: “We have been monitoring the rapidly changing situation and guidance on coronavirus extremely closely.

“This includes regularly reviewing our events programme and, it is with great regret, that we have decided to cancel Seaham Food Festival.

“This decision was not taken lightly, as we were looking forward to building upon the success of last year’s festival.

“We know how important events like these are to the county’s economy and the food producers that support it.

“However, our foremost concern is that the festival does not put at risk the health of our visitors, traders, chefs, partners, sponsors, event staff and volunteers.

“We must follow the Government’s guidance and if by making this decision we can help to slow the spread of coronavirus and relieve the pressure on our emergency services, it is the right action to take.”