Riverside Festival fair cancelled with days to go

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

Nottingham's Riverside Festival will no longer take place after the only remaining element, a funfair, was cancelled.

The Mellors Group, which was responsible for the fair, has pulled out days before the event which was due to take place along the Victoria Embankment between Friday and Sunday.

It comes after the city council, which organised the festival, stripped 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".

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.

"We are always open to discussions with any other commercial organisations who may be interested in working with the council in the future to add value for all our residents."