Pub 'left in the dark' after festival fair cancelled

Staff at Brewhouse and Kitchen say they have spent months preparing for the festival

The manager of a pub in Nottingham says his team was "left in the dark" after the last-minute cancellation of the city's Riverside Festival fair.

The Mellors Group, which was due to run the fair, pulled out just days before the event - originally scheduled to take place along the Victoria Embankment from Friday to Sunday.

Michal Sobczak, manager of Brewhouse and Kitchen, near Trent Bridge, said the pub had spent £10,000 on acts and events over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Mellors Group said: "We're disappointed not to be bringing our fair to the Riverside Festival site this year, particularly after many successful summers on the Embankment."

Nottingham City Council, which organised the festival, scaled back the event in 2024, months after the authority effectively declared itself bankrupt.

The local authority's leader Neghat Khan said the operator's decision was "extremely disappointing".

The Riverside Festival was first held in 1973, and in previous years was billed "the East Midlands' biggest free family festival".

The pub hired about 30 different acts to play over the weekend

Mr Sobczak, 37, said staff only found out this year's festival was no longer going ahead on Monday - giving them less than a week's notice.

By that point, 30 acts had been booked to perform over the weekend.

"We had already put everything together - how could we let the stallholders, acts and musicians down at such late notice?" he added.

"Our first reaction was to cancel, but there were performers reliant on the money we've paid them for this."

One of Mr Sobczak's main concerns is that nobody will turn up to the event.

"Originally, we expected 5,000 people to come over the next three days.

"Now, I'd be shocked if more than 100 turn up. But we're clinging on to the hope that more will come."

The fair was the only part of the annual event due to go ahead this year

In the future, Mr Sobczak believes businesses like his should be given more notice when major nearby events are cancelled.

He said: "The Riverside Festival brings us so much footfall and is a way for us to get new customers and reach out to the community.

"Knowing earlier would give us time to sort out arrangements and see what else we can do.

"The least the festival organisers could do is come down and have a pint to help us out. We'd appreciate that."

A spokesperson for the Mellors Group said: "We're disappointed not to be bringing our fair to the Riverside Festival site this year, particularly after many successful summers on the Embankment.

"However, we remain committed to supporting this much-loved event and are hopeful that, working alongside the city council, we can help bring the Riverside Festival back in 2026, restoring it to the scale and spirit that the people of Nottingham know and love."

Khan added: "It is extremely disappointing that the commercial operator has taken the decision to not go ahead with a funfair this year, having delivered an event last year over the usual Riverside Festival weekend.

"Riverside Festival has not taken place in its full format since 2023 – previously the event cost around £75,000 to stage, which included fireworks and the boat race – however we recognise that the event benefits residents across the wider county as well as the city, and regrettably, in previous years, the county council chose not to contribute towards the event."