Cornwall's first comedy festival cancelled after heavy rain

Cornwall’s first comedy festival has been called off with just five days notice.

Organisers say the torrential rain that has hit the outdoor site over the weekend has made the event impossible.

Comedians including Bill Bailey, Katherine Ryan and Russell Kane had been due to play over the five stages at Stand Up In The Wyldes, near Bude, this bank holiday weekend.

Organisers apologised to ticket holders and said: ‘We are genuinely gutted that we’ve had to temporarily postpone the event, as we totally appreciate the inconvenience and annoyance that this will no doubt cause for many, if not most of you.’

In a statement posted on their website, they added: ‘Following the terrible weather over the past month, and compounded by yesterday’s unseasonal and torrential rain, it has put us in the unfortunate position of having the water table so high within the event grounds that, even if the weather remains generally good over this week and for the event weekend, it would only take one heavy shower to re-flood the site, rendering it unsafe for public attendance. 

‘Also, as the site build was planned to start today, due to the extremely wet conditions, large-scale vehicular access is near impossible.’

They insisted that the festival was ‘postponed’ rather than cancelled – but would not now likely to be taking place until at least the first half of next year. That, they say, will give them time to patch up the site and find a new date all the headliners can do. Tickets will be valid for the rescheduled event.

It was thought that  Stand Up In The Wyldes would have been the first festival of its kind in Cornwall.

The organisers have not yet responded to our query as to whether refunds are available for ticket-holders.

Published: 22 Aug 2017