Ayrshire: The highly anticipated Fawkes Festival scheduled for tonight at Dean Castle Country Park has been called off. GC Live, the event organizer, issued a statement conveying their decision, citing safety concerns following direct threats towards staff members at East Ayrshire Leisure Trust.
Chief Officer Anneke Freel explained the cancellation, emphasizing a zero-tolerance policy towards threatening or inappropriate behaviour directed at their team. The decision to cancel the event was prompted by the increasing risks posed by these threats.
The documented threats have been reported to the police, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.
The paramount concern, as stated by Freel, was the safety of the public, staff, and animals. Numerous unauthorized access threats posed potential dangers to the large expected attendance at the festival.
The welfare of the animals within the park was also a significant worry due to threats of accessing animal pens, which could cause undue stress, further escalating potential risks for both staff and visitors.
Efforts are underway to reach out to all ticket holders and attendees to inform them about the cancellation. Full refunds will be automatically processed within 5-7 working days through the ticket platform.
Earlier in the month, the Fawkes Festival had an immensely successful debut, attracting a sold-out crowd of 4000 attendees. Due to its popularity, an additional event was arranged for tonight, projected to follow suit with a high turnout. However, safety concerns ultimately led to the cancellation of this much-anticipated event.
FULL STATEMENT HERE :
It is with regret that following several direct threats made towards members of staff at East Ayrshire Leisure Trust, the decision has been made to cancel tonight’s Fawkes Festival at Dean Castle Country Park.
Chief Officer Anneke Freel said, “We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding threatening/inappropriate behaviour towards all team members, and the risks have become too great to ignore. All threats have been documented, and police have been contacted.
Health and safety are paramount to our organization, and due to the nature and number of these unauthorized access threats, we can no longer guarantee the security of the large number of the public who are due to attend the event this evening: our staff and the animals.
The welfare of our animals is also under threat, with members of the public threatening to gain unauthorized access to animal pens. Although not the intention, this would cause undue stress, which has the potential to put our staff and customers at further risk.”
The Fawkes Festival and East Ayrshire Leisure Trust team are working closely to contact all members of the public who were due to attend tonight’s event to advise them of the cancellation.
Full refunds will be processed automatically via the ticket platform and will be with you within 5 – 7 working days.
The first event was held on Sunday, a sell-out with 4000 people in attendance.
We announced earlier this month that Dean Castle was our fastest-ever selling Fawkes Festival event, and the decision had been made to offer an additional event tonight to accommodate those who had missed out.
Tonight’s event was equally popular and was expected to sell out.
