THERE WILL be no Galway International Arts Festival this summer, but the year will not pass by entirely without it. Galway will instead have a different kind of arts festival, at a different time than it is used to.
On Friday, the GIAF announced that this year's festival, due to take place from July 13 to 26, would not go ahead as planned. However, a special programme of events would take place this Autumn, details of which are to be announced soon.
“We are very disappointed to announce the postponement of the festival," said GIAF CEO John Crumlish, and artistic director Paul Fahy. "This decision was made with a very heavy heart but GIAF has no other option under these unprecedented circumstances.
"We are now working to bring audiences a programme of events this autumn. Our work has always been about bringing people together, artists and audiences, to celebrate great art, and we hope it won’t be too long before we are all back together to do so again.”
Big Top concerts rescheduled
GIAF also announced that the Big Top concerts - to have featured the Pixies, the Flaming Lips, Kaiser Chiefs, and Sinéad O'Connor, have been rescheduled for July 2021. Original tickets remain valid for the rescheduled date."GIAF would very much appreciate if you could keep your current ticket for the concert in 2021 if possible," Messrs Crumlish and Fahy said, "as this will make a huge difference to the festival overall during these difficult and uncertain times."
The option of a refund is also available.The festival team will contact ticket holders with full details on individual shows in the coming days.
Festivals cancelled due to Covid-19
Blue Teapot Theatre Company, in consultation with Galway 2020, has decided to postpone the Crossing The Line Festival, due to take place this month, until 2021. Full refunds will be available from point of purchase.
"We are hugely disappointed for our artists, audiences, and all partners to have to postpone Crossing The Line Festival," said Blue Teapot artistic director Petal Pilley, "but we shall endeavour to bring this once in a lifetime event to audiences next year’.
Féile Traidphicnic 2020 has also been cancelled as "it would not be possible to run the festival safely," according to the organisers. However they are planning a number of online events and are looking forward to 2021 which will mark the festival's 10th anniversary.
