Festival not viable after pandemic - organisers

Music in the Hall organisers claim people's habits have changed since the pandemic

A Worcestershire music festival has announced its final date after "a number of factors" mean it is no longer viable to run.

Bewdley's Music in the Hall, held at St George’s Hall, will draw to a close after becoming a regular on the events calendar for the last nine years.

The organisers have partly blamed the pandemic and the cost of living crisis for a reduced number of audience members and affordable acts.

They have confirmed that Friday, 5 July will be the last show, with Liz Simmons and Flynn Cohen returning to the stage.

In a statement, organisers said: "During the last two years a number of factors have seen us presenting many fewer acts than we did pre-pandemic.

'Might be resurrected'

"It has become increasingly difficult to attract artists of the calibre that we were used to presenting.

"This was either because they no longer toured the UK, as they had done previously, or their fees became too high for our small venue to viably present them.

"In addition, our previously loyal audience seems to a large extent to have deserted us."

"People’s habits did appear to change following the Covid pandemic," they added.

They have also "lost a number of the regular support team", with the onus of putting on the shows had fallen on fewer shoulders.

However, the statement did leave some hope for fans after the organisers said it did "hope that at some time in the future Music in the Hall might be resurrected", with the team at St George’s Hall also hoping to put on one-off music events.