Standon Calling: Hertfordshire festival confirmed to take place in July

The music festival Standon Calling has confirmed it will take place in July.

The event, near the village of Standon in Hertfordshire, will go ahead between 22-25 July and features Bastille, Primal Scream, Craig David presents TS5 and Hot Chip, among others.

Organisers said "a number of factors" had given them the confidence to go ahead as planned.

Attendees will need a negative pre-event Covid lateral flow test in order to gain entrance.

It will be one of the first festivals to run at full capacity for almost two years, a spokesman said, with a crowd of about 15,000 expected.

The festival had its origins in a garden party for about 40 people in 2001, and by 2008 it had grown to a festival for 2,500 people.

Standon Calling did not take place last year due to the pandemic.

Founder Alex Trenchard said Sajid Javid's statement as the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on Tuesday "echoed the Prime Minister's confidence earlier in the day that 19 July will be the 'end of the line' for Covid restrictions".

Mr Trenchard also said results from the government's test events, which showed there were "no substantial outbreaks" as a result, helped them decide to continue with the festival as planned.

Organisers said they were "ready to adapt and implement any further guidance or regulations that emerge before the festival".

At the same time, they called on politicians to provide more support for the festival sector.

"The lack of clear and timely guidance and the absence of government-backed insurance has been a challenge not only to ourselves but to the entire festival industry," the organisers said in a statement.

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