“We’re heartbroken”: Beyond the Woods festival cancelled

Organisers of this weekend’s Beyond the Woods festival have cancelled the much-anticipated event due to weather warnings.

The Lincolnshire musical festival, previously known as JoeFest before being rebranded, at the Stourton Estated in Baumber, Horncastle, was due to kick off tomorrow with a top bill of national and local acts.

Around 60 artists were booked and around 2,000 music fans were expected to attend.

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for heavy rain on Friday and strong winds on Saturday, affecting the whole of Lincolnshire.

Those who have purchased tickets have been promised refunds.

Beyond the Woods organisers posted on social media on Thursday, August 8:

“We are absolutely heartbroken to tell you that, due to safety concerns around the weather, this year’s Beyond The Woods Festival will no longer be going ahead.

“Over the last 24 hours, the weather forecast for Baumber this weekend has worsened. We are expecting thunderstorms, and in particular extremely strong winds, which present a very real threat to the health and safety of anyone on site.

“Following conversations with our colleagues in the emergency services, and the East Lindsey Events Safety Advisory Group, we have been forced to conclude that it would not be possible for the festival to take place safely.

“Of course, this is not a decision that we have taken at all lightly. Our hardworking team of volunteers explored a number of possibilities for allowing the festival to continue. Ultimately, however, we have to put your safety, and theirs, first.

“We understand that you will have a lot of questions, including about refunds, and would like to reassure you that we will be refunding all tickets to the event purchased through our official channels, Gigantic and Eventbrite, including the booking fee.

“However, our immediate priority has to be the safety of our staff, volunteers and contractors who are still on site. We will therefore be making a further statement with more details within the next 48 hours.

“Thank you so much for your continued support of the festival. We will be working even harder to ensure that we can be back with another brilliant event in 2020.”