Delay in lockdown easing forces organisers to pull plug on 6,000-capacity festival

ORGANISERS have pulled the plug on a 6,000-capacity festival that had been due to be held in the grounds of an 18th-century mansion in just two months – due to Covid restrictions.

Delays in easing restrictions were blamed for the scrapping of Out East at Gosford House, East Lothian, where the Outlander series and The Princess Switch movie were filmed.

Festival bosses said they had reached a “turning point” in having to spend money on infrastructure and fees for acts without knowing if Covid restrictions would be eased in time.

Sister Sledge, The Futureheads and Callum Beattie were all due to appear at the “family friendly festival”, which had been planned to go ahead with social distancing measures in place.

Audience numbers at outdoor events are currently capped at just 2,000 at Level Zero under

Scotland’s route map out of lockdown. East Lothian is currently at Level One.

Mainland Scotland is not expected to reach Level Zero until July 19 at the earliest – three weeks later than envisaged. Organisers said they are now planning for the event to take place next year, but

at another location, in the grounds of Dalkeith House in Midothian.

Both Sister Sledge and Ministry of Sound Classical have been confirmed as headliners.

An official announcement said:

“It is with great sadness that we must announce Out East will no longer be taking place at Gosford House this August and will be postponed until 2022.

“We have been closely monitoring the current situation and the announcement that Level Zero is being pushed back by three weeks means we simply cannot move forward with our plans.

“The health and safety of everyone involved with and attending the festival is paramount, and we are at a turning point where equipment costs, infrastructure and artist deposits etc become unrecoverable unless we act now.

“With this in mind, it is just not possible for the festival to go ahead as planned.

“We have been doing everything within our power, but for an independent event such as Out East, this means a huge gamble if we were to venture further forward. Sadly we have had to look for a new festival home next year.

“We cannot thank Gosford

House for all their support in trying to make Out East 2021 happen.

“The festival will be moving to the beautiful Dalkeith House on 6th and7th August 2022.

“Further information for ticketholders will come from our ticketing partner, Skiddle, as will more information on a bespoke transport service from East Lothian to and from Dalkeith and some nice little bonuses for carrying your ticket over to 2022.”