Rye Bonfire chiefs cancel pageant due to coronavirus pandemic

Organisers said social distancing looked likely to continue for some time and societies had been unable to fundraise for the event due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Neale East, secretary of Rye Bonfire Society, said: “The Government’s current advice is that social distancing will be the new normal for some time to come, perhaps for the remainder of the year.

“For these reasons, the society directors have made the very difficult decision to cancel Rye Bonfire Pageant 2020.
“Another big problem for most of the societies in the Senlac group has been their inability to fundraise during lockdown which has been a particular problem for us especially without our Auction of Promises which normally generates over half the funding that we need for our event.  

“This is in line with many other local and national public events which have also cancelled.”
Pressures on emergency services was also a concern.

He added: “We also need to be mindful of the pressure of holding such a large public event on the local emergency services and businesses in Rye which may not be able to cope with such large numbers whilst remaining safe for staff and guests. 
“While we know this is disappointing, we hope you can understand the steps we’re taking to help keep our members, visiting societies and public safe. 
“We would like to thank the many local businesses, organisations and individuals without whose help we could not exist and hope for their continued support on what we hope will be a brighter future and look forward to our 2021 Bonfire on November 13, 2021 which we hope will be an extra special one!” 

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