Thanks to the ongoing doubt around the scheduling of live music events, the organisers of the Vive Le Rock-sponsored FUTURAMA festival have taken the difficult decision to postpone the event until Easter 2022.
The much-vaunted return of the semi-legendary 80s post-punk event, featuring Heaven 17 (pictured), Spear Of Destiny, A Certain Ratio, Peter Hook & The Light, The Chameleons and many more, had initially been scheduled to take place in April this year, but ongoing restrictions forced organisers to move it to September. With doubts rife across the industry over the wisdom of the Government's decision to free the nation from restrictions on 19 July, the decision was taken to move it once again to the weekend of 16-17 April 2012.
The organisers state, “We apologise for the inconvenience but the increasing COVID infection rate, plus the latest delay in lifting restrictions without the necessary assurances and guidance from the Government, has made it impossible to put the festival on this year. It’s the news that many expected but few wanted, but it did become obvious during the long dark months of lock down that even if a green light was given on June 21st, people would still be hesitant and rightly so. Despite the government saying July the 19th, we know people have changed and it will take a little time to restore confidence and feel secure inside indoor events.
“More than anything, we want Futurama to be free of all restrictions. We want it to be a celebration of freedom, we want people to be able to fully immerse themselves in the festival and to be able to wander around all our great venues, watching bands, eating & drinking, without having to worry about safety precautions. That's what a festival is all about; having a great time, interacting with music fans and we don’t think we can produce that special atmosphere this year. We are all longing for Futurama to return and we can wholeheartedly promise to deliver the greatest post punk festival this country has seen in over four decades.
“Most bands have reconfirmed for next year and the ones that can't make it will be replaced by just as good bands as we have been inundated with acts to play the festival. The good news is we’re happy to confirm that tickets for this year’s festival will automatically be rolled over to 2022. So next year’s festival is secured, and no further action is required! If you’re not able to join us in 2022, you’ll be able to claim a face value refund on all tickets. We’re working closely with our ticketing partners, and they will be in touch with instructions on the next steps within 7 days. Thank you again for your continued support. For now, keep safe, keep healthy and look after each other. The Futurama Team.”
More details can be found here.