ORGANISERS of the Reminisce Festival are set to make an announcement on this year’s event this week.
Tickets for this year’s festival, which has taken place in Sherdley Park since 2014, are currently on sale but concrete details have been thin on the ground.
Days before the UK went into lockdown in March, Reminisce insisted the 2020 event – which usually attracts around 18,000 people – was still going ahead.
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Last week, organisers teased some new information on the event’s official Facebook page.
“I know lots are asking and wondering what’s going on with Reminisce Festival, we have tried to hold on as long as possible to see what develops,” the post said.
“All the team are currently going over all guidelines to see what is and isn’t possible and we will be making a full and final decision and announcement next week.
“As always, thank you for all your support at this difficult time.”
A spokesman for Reminisce told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it was planning to announce this year’s plans on Wednesday.
However, the spokesman has confirmed this has now been pushed back until Friday evening.
Earlier this month, fresh details of this year’s event was published by St Helens Borough Council after it published an executive decision to grant permission to In Demand to hire Sherdley Park for Reminisce Festival 2020.
Details of the decision, which was taken through delegated powers, said the event generates £15,000 in revenue for the council.
It also revealed an intention to hold the festival over two days, starting with a family-focused event on the first day.
The council said: “The festival has taken place in Sherdley Park since 2014 and has grown into an event of regional significance with over 18,000 visitors.
“In 2020 the organisers have requested the event move to a two-day format.
“Day 1 would be a family-based event and Day 2 would be the Reminisce Festival.
“It is anticipated that the two events would be marketed separately to their different audiences.”
Reminisce has previously said it is listening to and following the advice and guidelines from the Government, experts and public health agencies.
In May, the organisers of the popular dance festival Creamfields announced that this year’s event would be cancelled because of the pandemic.
The event was due to take place in Daresbury over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Since then, coronavirus guidance has changed to allow outdoor concerts, theatre and festivals to take place.
However, the Government says all events must have “a limited and socially distanced audience”, so it is difficult to see how current guidelines can apply to a major event that attracts thousands of people.
One council source has cast doubt over the likelihood of Reminisce Festival taking place this year, saying they would “be surprised if it did go ahead”.
While the risk of transmission is lower outdoors, the Government says there may be an additional risk of infection in environments where you or others are singing, chanting, shouting or conversing loudly.
This applies even if others are at a distance to you.
As such, members of the public are being advised to avoid places that require you to raise your voice to communicate with anyone outside your household.
One idea that has been suggested is the possibility of holding the festival virtually.
A number of high-profile events have chosen to go down this route this summer, including the upcoming Kendal Calling and the Wireless Connect virtual reality event.
We've teamed up with the legend that is @Tim_Burgess @LlSTENlNG_PARTY for 3 special KC listening parties with 3 #KC20 acts.
— Kendal Calling 🦌 (@KendalCalling) July 28, 2020
6pm Fri - @easylife
6pm Sat - @youmeatsix
6pm Sun - @_TheMagicGang
Listen live on https://t.co/014as2bJhz & follow #timstwitterlisteningparty pic.twitter.com/O0smeHQPKU
On social media, much doubt remains over the chances of the Reminisce taking place this year.
But support for the dance showpiece remains strong, with many festivalgoers saying they would be happy to roll their tickets over into 2021.
Speaking on Facebook, Louise Myers said: “As much as I was looking forward to going, as last year was amazing I think due to circs it should be postponed and tickets put forward for next year instead.”
Liam Rhodes added: “I hope everyone supports the cause if it cancels… roll over the ticket and rave on next year.”
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Janet Tomlinson said that if the event does get pulled then it can return “bigger and better” in 2021.
“Thinking of you all at team Reminisce Festival,” she said. “Heartbreaking for the industry and people have no idea the turmoil event promotes are going through.
“Fingers crossed you will return bigger and better if 2020 is pulled. Best wishes.”
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