Morris dancers to fundraise as council pulls grant

Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance, with dancers often wearing costumes incorporating bells and ribbons

A group of Morris dancers are calling on members of the public to support them after funding for their event was withdrawn.

Organisers of the Sandbach Day of Dance said they had decided to launch an online crowdfunding campaign, following Sandbach Town Council's decision to pull its £6,000 contribution towards the event.

They said an "unpleasant situation" had arisen as a result, and that they wanted to demonstrate their event had the support of local residents and businesses.

Sandbach Town Council declined to comment on the issue.

"We only ever wanted to put on a fantastic free public event for the town to enjoy, and to support the town's businesses and trade by showcasing the best of our nation's traditional dance - Morris dancing," the organisers said in a statement.

Sandbach Day of Dance organisers said they would use online crowdfunding to raise money for their event in 2026

They said the vote to withdraw funding from their annual event was linked to concerns over the use of "blackface" by some of the participants in 2024 and 2025.

None of the participants wore blackface in 2024 or 2025, they said, but admitted an error was made in advertising material for the 2024 event, when an image of a Morris group with painted black faces was used by mistake.

They said this material was removed immediately and an apology was made for the error.

The BBC has been unable to verify if the reason for the withdrawal of funding was connected to this issue.

Organisers said they now intended to forge ahead with plans for next year, with "a bigger and brighter event putting the town on the map with representation of as many styles of traditional British dance as possible."

The event has been scheduled for 30 May 2026.