Falmouth tall ships festival cancelled over Covid uncertainty

It was hoped about 40 tall ships would attend the festival

A highly anticipated festival of sailing in Cornwall has been cancelled due to Covid-19.

The Falmouth Tall Ships Race was scheduled for August, but organisers said it would now not go ahead due to the "continuing uncertain situation".

The mayor of Falmouth said the decision was "disappointing but understandable".

It was hoped the four-day event would create an uplift for the local economy. When Falmouth last hosted it in 2014 97,000 visitors spent £20.9m locally.

Falmouth has hosted the tall ships festival six times since 1966

It was hoped that about 40 tall ships from a number of different countries would attend and spend a few days in Falmouth before racing to La Coruna in Spain on 19 August.

Organisers said they were looking at other possible options that would be announced "in the near future".

In a statement the Falmouth Town Team said: "The Covid situation and in particular, the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to severely affect international travel, the events sector and crucially for this event, the ability for the tall ships to travel and safely accommodate crew, a key aspect in respect of their commercial viability."

The Mayor of Falmouth, Steve Eva said: "We know the tall ships events are loved by many people in Falmouth, Cornwall and further afield but given the current situation and in particular the challenges faced by the ships and their captains, it is the correct decision based on the information available at this moment in time."