Concerns over 'significant' impact on Portsmouth's economy as Victorious Festival is cancelled
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Organisers announced today the August event in Southsea, which last year brought in an estimated £12.5m into the local economy, will be scrapped this year due to coronavirus fears.
It comes as other music festivals including Reading and Leeds were also cancelled.
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Portsmouth City Council's culture cabinet member, Councillor Steve Pitt, said public safety was a top priority. He said: 'Along with the whole of the impact of Covid-19, not having Victorious this year will be significantly detrimental to the economy of the city.
'Everyone's being sensible and I applaud the organisers of Victorious for putting public safety first and making the decision which must have been incredibly difficult for them but which they had no real alternative to make.
'Victorious is the single largest event that contributes to the cultural economy of the city, although obviously the whole cultural economy of the city is important because it supports 13,000 jobs - and that has all been affected by Covid-10.
'I hope we're going to see them back bigger and better still in 2021 and hopefully we're able to enjoy these kinds of activities again.'
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Hide AdPenny Mordaunt, Portsmouth North MP, believed the festival’s loss would have a huge impact on the city’s economy, which is already feeling the strain of the lockdown, with scores of business closed and thousands of workers furloughed.
The government’s paymaster general told The News: ‘This is sad but expected news. I know this will be a huge disappointment, how much people look forward to Victorious and how important it is to our local economy.
‘As a city we are going to have to be creative and determined to find new ways of boosting opportunities for our businesses in the coming months.’
Portsmouth South MP, Stephen Morgan, agreed. He said: 'In the face of this unprecedented public health emergency, the priority has to be the safety and security of our communities.
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Hide Ad'Regrettably, that means making tough decisions. I recognise the great cultural and economic value that Victorious brings to our city but challenging times mean difficult decisions, and I support the team behind the festival in the decisions they’ve taken.'
Conservative leader in the city, Cllr Donna Jones, was shocked by the news but hoped to see the festival return next year.
‘It’s a massive blow to Portsmouth, both from a morale perspective and economically,' she said.
‘A number of people in city work at the annual festival and my thoughts are with them too.
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Hide Ad‘But the owners are committed to bringing Victorious back in 2021 let’s all get behind them and make it one of the best ever.’
Ticket holders for this year's event have been told they can use them for the festival in 2021 but refunds are also being offered.