Galway International Arts Festival is waiting for further guidance from the government before deciding whether this year’s festival will be going ahead as planned.
The 2020 Galway International Arts Festival is currently scheduled to run from July 13 –
The government announced on Tuesday that while it hopes to begin lifting some of the restrictions imposed for the coronavirus pandemic, restrictions on mass gatherings will be in place throughout the summer.
Local authorities are being instructed by the government that events requiring a licence for more than 5,000 people will not be considered before the end of August.
Every year Galway International Arts Festival brings over a quarter of a million people to Galway over the course of two weeks.
Events big and small take place in venues around the city, with some of the largest crowds seen at concerts in the Heineken Big Top.
A statement from the festival’s organisers said that they will be waiting for more specific guidance on mass gatherings from the National Public Health Emergency Team before making a decision on this year’s festival.
“While the government’s statement regarding licensed events of mass gatherings in excess of 5,000 people does impact the Festival, we await further guidance on restrictions on mass gatherings from NPHET.”
“The government has indicated that further updates will be made in this regard before May 5th and we will await further clarification on crowd restrictions before we make a decision on whether this year’s Galway International Arts Festival goes ahead as planned”.
Some of the major events planned for this year’s festival include The Pixies, Sinéad O’Connor, Kaiser Chiefs, and the Flaming Lips playing at the Big Top.
