A major UK carol concert that has been running for more than 70 years faces the axe over health and safety concerns.
The Christmas Eve event which usually takes place in Rose Square in Canterbury could be cancelled by organisers because of worries the number of people attending could be in the thousands.
The concert has been held since 1952 but there are fears about the limited number of volunteers available to manage the huge crowds, which means it could be cancelled.
The event traditionally includes the attendance of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was unable to go ahead in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic and was replaced with an online alternative.
Confusion arose after the Lord Mayor of Canterbury’s Christmas Gift Fund, which has long organised the service, posted on social media that it had been called off.
The charity said: “We are very sad to advise you that the Community Carol Singing on Christmas Eve (December 24) in Rose Square, Canterbury will not take place this year.
“We are a small committee of volunteers and the requirements to ensure that the event goes ahead safely is beyond what we can do.”
The charity went on to explain it would continue to distribute gifts to those in need.
However, the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Jean Butcher, said there was still hope the event could go ahead.
She revealed the council is in talks with the Lord Mayor of Canterbury’s Gift Fund and Whitefriars with the goal of preserving the event.
Canterbury City Council leader Alan Baldock said: “We’re very anxious that it does go ahead. We’re pulling out all the stops and at the moment we’re optimistic.”
This is not the first Christmas carol concert in the UK to be affected by health and safety concerns.
The Columbia Road Christmas Concert in Bethnal Green, which takes place on Wednesdays leading up to Christmas, was cancelled after huge crowds attended, when the event went viral on social media platform, TikTok.
Some who attended said they were “packed in like sardines” believing it was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
Express.co.uk has contacted Canterbury City Council for more information about this year’s event in Canterbury.
