A popular fire festival held on Peel Beach won’t be taking place this year.
Organisers of Oie Voaldyn announced the news on Facebook today (Tuesday).
The festival, which started in 2018, aims to bring people together to celebrate the arrival of summer with music, ceremony and fire. Large crowds gather on Peel Promenade in early May each year to see bonfires, fireworks and torch light parades.
However the free event last took place on the island in 2022.
But in April last year a similar, small family-friendly event was held in St John’s to ensure people didn’t miss out completely on this much-loved community festival.
This year it was set to return to Peel on May 5, but organisers confirmed that it won’t be going ahead as planned.
The statement said: ‘Just a sad note to say that we will not be holding this years festival as we have not raised sufficient funds to cover all the overheads and infrastructure costs’. But organisers remain hopeful the event can return in 2025, if ‘generous sponsors come forward’.
In previous years a JustGiving page has been set up to ensure the future of the popular fire festival.
In 2022, the event raised £1,786 to attempt to keep it alive.
Organisers said that due to its popularity, they need to invest in ‘better sound, light and stewarding to ensure our growing audience stay safe and enjoy all aspects of the performance’.
People have shared their disappointment about the Oie Voaldyn event not returning this year, commenting on the official announcement on Facebook.
One said: ‘Would be a great shame to not hold this wonderful event let’s hope you get the necessary funding.
‘This is such a good event, residents and tourists love it!’ Another person said: ‘I was hoping to come over this year for the festival, so sad you have had to cancel.’
And an island gin company, The Fynoderee Distillery, expressed their disappointment and offered some support for Oie Voaldyn.
It said: ‘Sad times, you know where we are if anything changes - we’d love to help you grow this spectacular event for Peel.’