Christmas market choirs cancelled at last minute

Two choirs were prevented from performing at a Christmas market in Norfolk due to an apparent administrative mistake by the town council.

Attleborough's Christmas market was held over the weekend in Queens Square, featuring the usual range of craft stalls, street food, a grotto and mulled wine.

But the night before the event, Voice Junction and Pop Club Choir were told they would be not be able to perform as planned.

The council said it failed to secure a temporary event notice (TEN), which is required for providing entertainment on unlicensed premises, as it did not realise one was needed.

Children's group Voice Junction and all-ability ensemble Pop Club Choir had been lined up as the stars of the event.

Pop Club Choir, which has members aged between 17 and 70, had hoped to raise money for charity at the market.

Ed Dewson, who runs the choir in Thetford, Bungay, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, said they were left disappointed.

"This is part of the rough and tumble of showbiz but we are not rock stars – we wanted to do this to create a nice atmosphere and bring some Christmas razzmatazz," he said.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "The TEN was not applied for because our administration team had not realised a TEN would be required for a choir to perform around the tree in the square.

"By the time this was brought to our attention it was far too late to secure a TEN licence. So, we took the difficult decision to cancel the choirs as we did not want to risk falling foul of the licensing laws.

"We have issued a sincere apology on our page to those who had been inconvenienced and disappointed."

A request for a TEN must be lodged with Breckland Council at least 10 working days before an event takes place, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Taila Taylor, mayor of Attleborough and a member of the town council, said the situation was "unfortunate".

But she added: "One important puzzle piece may have been missing from the event but the council set out to deliver a Christmas market with good intentions, hopefully benefiting lots of local businesses."

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.