No sooner had we got excited about the grand reopening of festival season here in Ireland, we’re writing about postponements all over again, as BD Festival have just announced their events won’t be taking place this coming weekend.

BD Festival has sadly announced the news that due to proposed delays in all Covid restrictions being lifted this Friday, the team has taken the decision after much thought, to postpone both their ‘Day Of The Dead’ event and their huge ‘Alan Fitzpatrick’s Day’ event, which were set to take place this coming Saturday and Sunday, in the Wicklow mountains.

With Covid cases, once again on the rise, there is speculation that the government could announce a reduced capacity approach, which may include obligatory vaccine passports for large scale events and/or testing to facilitate admittance. As it stands, there is little to no clarity on what the requirements will be, which no doubt makes it unfeasible for any large scale events such as BD to plan at such short notice. With BD Festival having already sold out their Sunday, it may well be logistically impossible to cut the attendee numbers at this late stage, plus bring in the support systems required for vaccine passport and/or tests this late in the day.

You can read the full BF Festival announcement below.

It is with a heavy heart we have made the decision to postpone this year’s sold-out BD Festival due to take place the weekend of 23rd October as a result of the comments made by the Taoiseach Micheal Martin indicating/suggesting that the lifting of final restrictions on 22nd October may not proceed as planned. The postponement of this year’s two-day festival is due to the risk of the continuation of Covid-19 restrictions. 

Without the government reassurance that reopening will proceed as planned, we cannot provide an environment in which all our BD fans can truly re-live the unique festival experience we have all missed so much.  Under current restrictions venue capacity of mixed immunity status is just 50% and also subject to appropriate protective measures including social distancing between groups and face masks. Whilst we have done everything in our power to ensure the festival goes ahead, the restrictions make the event unfeasible, as the safety and welfare of every single person at BD Festival is our number one priority.

However, the dates will be rescheduled, with both events taking place on Easter weekend, 16th & 17th of April 2022. All current tickets will be valid for these new dates. We are working hard with all artists and agents to enable them to play the new BD Festival dates, with more top class international artists to be announced in the coming days and weeks. We are delighted to confirm that the bus service has been confirmed for the new date, with less than half price priority tickets available to all existing ticket holders. We have also been working hard to curate a live stream event for existing ticket holders, accessible online on Sunday 24th October, featuring some international artists from the original line-up. Access details will be sent to ticket holders in advance of the event.

Thank you as ever for your continued support and also thanks to Glendalough House, our partners, artists, crew and all those involved working on our festival. Now running for 14 years, BD is one of the longest running music and arts festivals on the Irish circuit. Without your support, enthusiasm and love the festival would not be what it is today. We’d also like to thank technicians, suppliers, traders, partners, Gardai, Fire Officers, security and all those who play their part to make events like this happen. This edition being postponed has caused huge difficulty across the board to all concerned. As a small business, we ask that you stick with us and enjoy the next instalment, which will be one of the first major festival weekends of the 2022 calendar year. Refunds will be available, however, as this is a sold-out event any refunded tickets will go back on sale on a first come first served basis. Priority bus tickets together with the live stream event on October 24th will also only be available to existing ticket holders.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the rescheduled event and thank you for your continued support. We will be posting exciting news and information on the new date soon! Stay tuned…

New Rescheduled dates  – Easter Bank Holiday Weekend 16 & 17th April 2022
BD Festival presents: BD House Party – Saturday 23rd October 2021

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