In a statement posted on its website this afternoon, the annual arts festival said that: “In order to adhere to the new restrictions in place for outdoor gatherings of over 15 people, Dublin Fringe Festival has no option but to cancel our scheduled outdoor events.”
The remainder of the festival is set to proceed as planned, running from September 5th through to the 20th.
Following last week's new government restrictions on outdoor events we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel our outdoor shows. All other programming remains unaffected.
Read our update for more information if you are an affected ticket-buyer:https://t.co/ttQFxDgeV8— Dublin Fringe Festival (@dublinfringe) August 24, 2020
It comes as last week a group representing 18,500 event industry workers, the Event Production Industry Covid-19 group (EPIC), called for urgent clarity from the Government on what it described as “farcical” Covid-19 guidelines regarding professionally organised events.
It followed the Government being forced to clarify that no more than six people can attend most indoor events while outdoor events are limited to 15 people, following widespread confusion about revised Covid-19 restrictions.
Museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries are exempt from the new amendments and can continue to hold 50 people under the new rules as they are “controlled environments”.
Dublin Fringe Festival has now cancelled its outdoor events in light of the 15 people limit.
The festival said it had worked with artists “to develop and plan a bespoke strand of imaginative outdoor programming for September 2020” while “taking on board government and scientific advice relating to outdoor events”.
However, after seeking clarity on the updated Government guidelines from “various stakeholders” in recent days, festival organisers said they had been forced to shelve the events.
Refunds will be available on tickets bought for cancelled performances, according to the festival’s statement.
