Party at the Palace: Two outdoor party events cancelled due to 'lack of communication' from Scottish Government

Three-day outdoor events Party at the Palace, in Linlithgow, and Party at The Park, in Perth, have been officially cancelled this year as organisers say they were left with ‘absolutely no alternative’.

They said that they are hugely disappointed to have to cancel both events – which were expected to attract audiences of around 18,000 each, with a further 1,000 staff, crew and artists at each – because of a lack of communication from the Scottish Government

In a statement released on Wednesday, organisers said: “There seemed to be no understanding that our events take months to plan. Relying on three weekly updates, conflicting advice and unclear guidance made it impossible to give assurances to our customers, artists, staff and traders.”

They added that they were also disappointed in the lack of insurance policy offered by the Scottish Government for events such as theirs. They recognised it was the responsibility of the UK Government, but felt that “if there had been a real willingness to get events in Scotland back on, more could have been done.”

The statement continued: “Sadly, Scotland is lagging behind our counterparts in other areas of the UK and we genuinely fear we won’t be the last festival to cancel this year.

“Another year without events for the thousands of freelancers and staff in this industry is not sustainable.

"We are already seeing a drain of talent and culture to events and festivals down south.”

Party at the Palace in Linlithgow has been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It continued to say that they were previously advised by the Government that it could not envisage a scenario where events would be able to take place in England but not in Scotland, but state that this is now the case with events of capacities of up to 200,000 taking place south of the border.

While it is too late for three-day events Party in the Park and Party in the Palace to take place, organisers are keen to raise awareness of the situation in the hope that other festivals and events will be able to take place in Scotland this year.

They added that music festivals “face a very bleak future” if the Scottish Government doesn’t intervene and give local authorities clear guidance.

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