Bury St Edmunds Festival cancelled for 2022 as West Suffolk Council prioritises The Apex programme

A festival of music, dance and entertainment has been cancelled for the third year in a row as a council seeks to prioritise a venue's programme of events.

The Bury St Edmunds Festival is usually held in May with dozens of performances and activities and was called off for the last two years due to the pandemic.

However, West Suffolk Council has announced the festival will not go ahead in 2022 to help ensure The Apex in Bury, which organises the event, can book and market a full programme.

Cllr Jo Rayner, cabinet member for leisure and culture at the council, said the priority must be in getting The Apex, at the arc shopping centre, fully back up and running as the festival takes many months of planning and involves a 'huge amount of work' from the venue.

"During the pandemic, The Apex had to cancel or postpone many performances and given the level of uncertainty we all faced, it wasn’t in a position to so easily book ahead," she said.

"Those that were postponed are now being rearranged.

"The Apex is also working to get a full programme of events planned going forward.

"This is to maximise the performance of The Apex not just in terms of the events we put on but also to further support its use as a community venue for hire."

Cllr Rayner added: “Given the need to prioritise The Apex events programme, we think it is prudent to cancel next year’s festival. We will of course support the work of our partners in organising and putting on other festivals and events across West Suffolk."