Nottingham's cancelled Goose Fair to be officially opened

The Goose Fair has been cancelled for a second time due to coronavirus

Nottingham's Goose Fair will be officially opened, despite the event having been cancelled.

The city council announced in August the centuries-old event would not be going ahead for a second year due to "concerns and uncertainty" over Covid.

However, the traditional ringing of a bell is still going ahead to mark the occasion.

It will happen in Old Market Square on Thursday where "Goosey", the fair's mascot, will also be on display.

Goosey went on display at Old Market Square in 2020 when the event was cancelled

The council said the Showmen's Guild had requested the bell still be rung to mark both the occasion and the significance of the charter first granted to the city allowing it to hold a fair in 1284.

The bell will be rung by lord mayor Dave Trimble, alongside a town crier and members of the Showmen's Guild, at 12:00 BST in the market square, rather than the Forest Recreation Ground, where the event usually takes place.

It marks the official opening of the fair, even though it now starts a day earlier.

Goosey - an eight-foot statue of a goose, which is usually positioned on a roundabout near the Forest Recreation Ground, will be on display between 07:30 and 16:30 BST.

This is the tenth time the Goose Fair has been called off in more than 700 years

Until 2020's cancellation, the fair, believed to be 737 years old, had only been cancelled a handful of times - because of plague in the 17th Century and the two world wars.