Christopher BarrettFollowing Festival Republic’s announcement that its Reading (cap. 90,000) and Leeds (80,000) festivals will go ahead this summer, the organisers of Pride In London and 10,000-capacity Red Rooster Festival in Suffolk are among the latest to announce that they will press ahead with their event.
LGBT festival Pride In London, which was attended by around 1.5 million people in 2019, was cancelled last summer but organisers have announced it will return to the capital on 11 September.
Red Rooster Festival director & production manager James Brennan said that on the back of the Government’s re-opening roadmap announcement this week, he has moved the event to 27 – 29 August with the aim of running with a full capacity.
Held in the grounds of the Euston Hall estate, Red Rooster specialises in Cajun, soul, rock’n’roll, blues and country music. The 2021 line-up is not due to be announced until April but organisers said they have been “inundated with enquiries” from festivalgoers. Weekend tickets for the event, which has sold out for the past three years, are on sale at £89.50.
Brennan told Access, “I’m delighted to proceed with Red Rooster in 2021. Moving to the bank holiday August, leaves plenty of leeway after the Government’s 21 June reopening schedule if that’s necessary, so I feel confident we can deliver a fantastic and safe event. I’m very proud to be a part of getting the live music business open again, getting my production crew back to what they do best, and giving our audience something special to look forward to this Summer.
“As a production manager as well as a promoter, I’ve worked with most of our suppliers for over 15 years, so our strong relationships have meant we have kept each other in the loop on what’s going on, what we’ve heard on the grapevine, and how we need to react quickly when the time comes. I want to make it happen for the suppliers as much as they want to make it happen for me too, so they’ve been very supportive with the festival.”
Meanwhile, the organisers of the 10,000-capacity GALA Festival, which usually takes place over the May bank holiday weekend in Peckham Rye Park, have rescheduled the event to 31 July – 1 August 1st.