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Bristol festival cancels over “growing challenges” with its venue
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 19 June 2023
Organisers of Bristol-based festival Tokyo World have announced that this year’s edition will not go ahead because of “growing challenges” with staging an event at its usual location, which is the city’s Eastville Park.
In a statement on the festival’s website, the organisers say: “It is with heavy hearts and deep regret that we cannot go ahead with this year’s Tokyo World Festival at Eastville Park, Bristol. Our entire team is devastated by this and pretty lost for words, but we would like to thank the thousands of you who have supported us this year and in recent years”.
They added that they have been working hard to make their event happen with Bristol City Council, which operates the park, and the local police force, stressing that both “have been supportive”.
However “we have not been able to find workable solutions to the challenges of this location in order to keep the event safe and secure in the surrounding area and roads. As a team of family people, we feel we need to prioritise your safety as you arrive and leave the event, as well as once inside”.
The statement added that the festival may return in 2024 at a new location, but that “there are too many growing challenges with using Eastville Park this year that cannot be overcome”.
A spokesperson for the Avon And Somerset Police force told the BBC that “at no point” did it want the event to be cancelled or postponed on safety grounds, adding that plans for a “policing operation were underway” and it had been “committed to working” with the council and organisers to “ensure the event proceeded safely”.
Meanwhile, the local council said that it was “disappointed” at the decision made by the Tokyo World promoters, but recognised “the challenges within the sector” and confirmed it “will continue to work with the team to plan for the future”.
This year’s event had been due to feature performances from the likes of Pendulum, Rudimental and Bad Boy Chiller Crew.
