Organisers' show of confidence that festival will go ahead

More comedians have been added to this year's Latitude line-up.

Festival boss Melvin Benn says the announcement proves his confidence the festival will be allowed to go ahead despite delays in coming out of lockdown.

The event - featuring a packed comedy line-up and Bill Bailey playing the main stage - is set to open its doors in Suffolk just three days after the lifting of restrictions, providing the date is not put back again.

But in a statement put out on Twitter last night, Benn says the Prime Minister’s decision to delay what the media have dubbed ‘freedom day’ by four weeks might actually be good news for the festival.

In a tweet headlined ‘Good news’ on the official Latitude account he wrote: 'It's been a long week after the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday.

‘While I was disappointed in the immediate aftermath of the statement, on reflection, I think it actually gives much more certainty of Latitude being able to happen than if he had loosened things on Monday because the country will have strangled the variant's ability to spread to a greater degree through increased vaccination than if we had opened fully this coming Monday.

‘So, for much of the week I have been in conversation with government on Latitude in particular and I'm very confident after those talks that Latitude will be allowed to go ahead.'

Comics joining the bill are  Helen Bauer, Daliso Chaponda, Nina Conti, Katie Pritchard, Micky Overman, Big Shop and  Erika Ehler.

Supergrass, Sons Of Kemet and Villagers have joined the music line-up.

They join previously announced comedy headliners Jo Brand, Simon Amstell, Reginald D Hunter and Katherine Ryan, and bands Wolf Alice, The Chemical Brothers, Bastille and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Tickets are available here – and will be refunded or deferred to 2022 should the event be cancelled. 

The announcement comes in the weekend of the Download Festival, being run at a greatly reduced capacity but with no social distancing, as part of a government pilot.

Meanwhile, Organisers of the Cambridge Comedy Festival have also confirmed that it will be going ahead  near Huntingdon on July 9 to 11.

The delayed easing of lockdown has meant reduced capacity, the loss of DJ sets, and the introduction of markings on the main arena to keep people within their 'bubbles' of up to 30. However, testing will not be required at the gate, and comedy fans won't have to wear face masks as it’s outdoors.

The event features more than 100 acts including Tom Allen, Milton Jones, Dara O Briain, Ed Byrne, Gary Delaney, Nina Conti, Al Murray, Reginald D Hunter and Rob Beckett. Tickets are available here.

Published: 19 Jun 2021