Bristol Tokyo World festival cancelled over safety concerns

Pendulum were due to be one of the festival's headliners

A Bristol music festival has been cancelled after organisers said they were unable to find "workable solutions" to keep people safe.

Tokyo World has taken place for the past nine years and was due to be held in Eastville Park in September.

But in a statement on Friday, organisers said there were "too many growing challenges" to using the park.

The police said "at no point" did it want the event cancelled or postponed on safety grounds.

In a statement, a spokesman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary explained that plans for a "policing operation were under way" and it had been "committed to working" with the council and organisers to "ensure the event proceeded safely".

The council said it was "disappointed" at the news but recognised "the challenges within the sector and will continue to work with the team to plan for the future".

Writing on its website and Facebook page, festival organisers said they made the decision with "heavy hearts and deep regret" and added it "may be back next year, in a new location".

"Our entire team is devastated by this and pretty lost for words but we would like to thank the thousands of you who have supported us this year and in recent years," they wrote.

Artists booked for this year's two-day event had included headliners Pendulum and Rudimental as well as Bad Boy Chiller Crew.

Festival organisers said they made the decision with "heavy hearts and deep regret"

But organisers said they had been unable to find "workable solutions to the challenges of this location in order to keep the event safe and secure in the surrounding area and roads".

They said they had "worked hard" with the council and police, which had both been "supportive", to try to overcome the challenges.

The news emerged just a month after the festival appeared to be going ahead on the weekend of 16 to 17 September.

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Writing online on 3 May, it said it would "spread across five fields of immersive adventure for an entire weekend".

It added: "Let the countdown begin. We can hardly wait."

Artists to have played the event in previous years include Busta Rhymes, Mike Skinner from the Streets and Faithless.