Cancelled 1940s event's organiser slams council

The organiser of a 1940s-themed weekend which had to be cancelled less than a day before it was due to take place has criticised a council for not allowing it to go ahead.

The Saltaire 1940s weekend was expected to be held in Roberts Park on the weekend of 29-30 June, but Bradford Council said on Friday 28 June that it could not allow it to go ahead "for everyone's safety".

A council spokesperson said the decision was made following advice from its Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

On social media, Marie McCahery, who organised the event, said: "To cancel late Friday morning is totally unacceptable."

As part of the event, a 1940s re-enactment display was planned, as well as a display of small military vehicles and classic cars.

A dance marquee was expected to be a focus of the weekend, with "vintage policemen, prams and poodles" also taking part, according to the event's Facebook page.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said it was decided not to allow the event to take place at the local authority-run park after "the latest advice from SAG".

The SAG is made up of representatives of the council, police, fire and ambulance services.

The spokesperson said the SAG "had been engaging with the event organiser for some time" and the decision not to give the go-ahead was "very rare and the decision is therefore not taken lightly".

"All event organisers must ensure that full and comprehensive plans are in place well in advance of their event, so that these can be assessed by SAG," they added.

"We realise how disappointed the organiser and people who were planning on visiting the event must feel, however these plans are there for everyone’s safety."

The spokesperson said such events required full risk assessments, evidence of adequate public liability insurance and medical assessment forms from Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Detailed site plans, command structures, as well as event management plans, including crowd management and event security plans, were also required.

In a post on Facebook, Ms McCahery said she was "going to fight to find out exactly what happened and why".

"If they had reservations about safety, they could have contacted me earlier in the week so I could tweak the Event Management Plan to their satisfaction, but they did nothing and waited until way past the last moment to cancel the event," she said.

"It was less than 24 hours before the event started for the public, but traders etc had already set off. The marquee and security were almost at the park. Many people from afar were already on their way and it was too late to cancel hotel reservations," Ms McCahery added.

The organiser also highlighted her concerns about implications for next year's Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture events.

"Who will come from afar to a Bradford event if it might be cancelled at such extremely short notice? This does not bode well for events being organized for Bradford 2025," she wrote.

Despite the main event being cancelled, some people still dressed up in 1940s-inspired clothing and danced at Saltaire's Victoria Hall.

The decision to cancel the Saltaire event followed Haworth's 1940s weekend being postponed until 2025 due to issues around road closures and traffic management.

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