Leeds Black Music Festival has been cancelled

The Leeds Black Music Festival has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The event, which traditionally takes place in Potternewton Park on August Bank Holiday Sunday, started in 1985 as the Leeds Reggae concert to complement the Leeds West Indian Carnival - which has also been cancelled.

Heather Nelson, CEO of the Black Health Initiative, who organise the festival, said she was "very sad" to announce the news.

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The event is free, family-friendly and features artists from a wide variety of genres across three stages.

Imar Shephard pictured on the stage at the 2018 festival.Imar Shephard pictured on the stage at the 2018 festival.
Imar Shephard pictured on the stage at the 2018 festival.

Ms Nelson said: “It is with a sincere sense of responsibility that we have to announce the cancellation of the Black Music Festival 2020.

“We know this brings a disappointment to all those who continue to join us for our fantastic free festival, which has attracted growing crowds with each year that passes.

“Whilst we are very sad to therefore to announce this cancellation, with every cloud is a silver lining.

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"Working within our culture arm Culturama (Leeds), we have several other events planned for the Autumn/Winter programme this year, from Gospel to a taste of the Caribbean, which promise to be fantastic.”

Throughout the year the festival also supports a variety of talent in Leeds by providing mentoring opportunities in both lyrical writing and stage performance.

Each year, a panel of experts choose one of the artists to perform on the main stage of the festival.

Judith Blake, Leeds City Council’s executive member for culture and economy, said: “We very much share the disappointment that unfortunately due to continued issues relating to coronavirus, the 2020 Black Music Festival at Potternewton Park in August has been cancelled.

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“The Black Music Festival is an integral part of the celebrations that are held over August Bank Holiday Weekend.

"We are looking forward to working with organisers to ensure that next year’s event is one of the very best in its history."

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