Whitby’s famous Goth Weekend has been cancelled, just hours after the organisers reassured fans it would be going ahead. Following a post that went out on social media announcing that the festival would be taking place this Halloween after all, their original statement has now been retracted, with the organisers now announcing that the festival would not be taking place this year.
Announcing on social media, the organisers said: “Obviously our post yesterday was ill-timed and, perhaps, ill-informed. We had all of our ducks lined up but they weren’t quite the right ones.
Continuing: “Our arrangements concerning 2020’s Whitby Goth Weekend were made before the news stories (about the businesses closing) broke and paperwork was already being retracted when our social team made the post.
“We were informed at 7pm last night of the severity of the situation in Whitby through, shockingly, formal channels, and not through angry Facebook messages from the usual anti-goth crowd.
“Obviously, we’re not foolish enough to hold Goth Weekend during a period of such sudden escalation and, with this in mind, have to revert to our plans for cancellation.
“Our plans are always with the safety of Whitby and the community in mind; something long-term followers of the event should be well aware of. We would never make a decision if we felt it could lead to any form of unnecessary risk and made our original decision based on formal reassurance from our venues.
“We can only apologise for the inconvenience or confusion caused, and sincerely hope the situation – and those affected – sees a strong recovery very soon.”
“We can only apologise for the inconvenience or confusion caused, and sincerely hope the situation – and those affected – sees a strong recovery very soon.”
The event, which has been taking place since 1994 twice a year in Spring and Autumn, was also cancelled this Spring due to the pandemic.
Whitby has seen huge visitor numbers over the summer as a result of a staycation boom, with many visitors complaining that it’s been difficult to social distance over the last few months.
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