Following the announcement by the UK Government urging the general public not to visit “pubs, clubs, or theatres” and advice from Brighton & Hove City Council, Brighton Fringe has announced that it will be postponing the festival, due to run Fri 1 – Sat 31 May, until Sept/Oct 2020.
Brighton Fringe has contacted participating venues, artists, staff, partners and funders. “On behalf of the thousands of people who have invested so much in putting on Brighton Fringe, I am devastated to say that we are unable to proceed in May due to the Coronavirus outbreak,” said Brighton Fringe CEO Julian Caddy. “I would like to thank you for all the work that you have done and also to thank all our funders, partners, sponsors, patrons, friends and the ticket buying public for your ongoing support, trust and patience at this difficult time.
“It is incredible to believe that a mere three weeks ago we launched our brochure and ticket sales for 1,035 events in 170 venues, with more than 5,500 performances due to take place across the city of Brighton & Hove. We were ready to welcome 160 international events from 32 countries with 50 international collaborations. Over that time COVID-19 has grown from being a far-away news story to a pandemic affecting everyone, all over the world.
“But we won’t give up that easily. After consulting with key stakeholders we are looking to reschedule Brighton Fringe to take place in September and October, when we have been advised that it will be again safe to proceed. We do not know yet what this Brighton Fringe will look like, but we will now work with all our participants, venues and partners to make it the best it can be- for all involved.
“In the meantime, please do bear with us while we take stock, rebuild and return. We are a universal platform for artists to put on work and we are determined to do our bit to stand up in the face of an invisible threat never before seen in modern times.
“Finally, please take care of yourselves and those around you: self-isolate, work from home, go offline and also try to take advantage of these strange times ahead. We will be back and we can’t wait for you to be able to finally dive into the best Brighton Fringe that we can create, for all of us. By September and October, I think we will definitely need and deserve it!”
England’s largest arts festival, Brighton Fringe sets out to stimulate, educate and entertain a diverse range of people through a diverse range of art forms. All this in an iconic city with unique cultural heritage.
Brighton Fringe is offering ticket buyers the opportunity to hold their tickets on account to be reused for either the rescheduled festival dates or Brighton Fringe 2021. In some cases, we will be offering audiences the option of converting their ticket into a donation that will be given to participating artists to help mitigate the financial impact. If events are unable to reschedule and therefore need to cancel, ticket buyers are entitled to a refund. If you have any questions regarding your tickets please contact [email protected]. We are a very small team, so appreciate your patience at this time.
If you would like to donate to Brighton Fringe at this difficult time, you can do so here: www.brightonfringe.org/donate
Brighton Fringe is coordinating with Artists Open Houses, which also plans to go ahead in October.
Brighton Fringe returns to venues across Brighton & Hove on Sept/Oct 2020