Popular event Beltane Fire Festival, which was set to take place on top of Calton Hill at the end of April, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The largest festival of its kind in Europe, the dazzling display tells the story of the transition from winter to summer and was expected to attract around 8,000 revellers.
However, due to "recent developments around coronavirus", the event's organisers have announced that the blazing celebration will not go ahead at all this year.
The decision comes after Boris Johnson urged all British citizens to end all "non-essential" contact and stop going to pubs, restaurants and clubs.
Bradley Mcarthur, Chair of the Beltane Fire Society’s board of trustees said: “We are committed to ensuring our events are a safe space for all attendees to celebrate the changing seasons and it was felt it would have been socially irresponsible to allow the event to go ahead as usual.
"This is aligned with the statement made by the First Minister of Scotland last week, advising all large public gatherings over 500 people should be cancelled.
“Although this will only be the second time in 32 years that the Beltane Fire Society have not celebrated Beltane on Calton Hill, we cannot ignore the potential risks for transmission that could arise from facilitating this public event. This is for the safety of all those attending, those that would be contracted to work with us, our dedicated volunteers and all those that would come into contact with them.
“We deeply appreciate those that were excited to come along and celebrate the changing of the seasons with our community and we know this will be disappointing news for those who had specifically planned to travel for this event."
“The board would like to specially thank all of those who applied to be group organisers and volunteers for this festival and were dedicated enough to give up their time to help us celebrate Beltane. We know this news will be deeply hard for them as well.”
Tickets can be transferred to the next festival or refunded. To request a refund contact: coordinator@beltane.org
The Edinburgh Playhouse, Festival and King's Theatres have all cancelled shows and closed their venues in a bid to prevent further spread of infection.
Edinburgh Live will be bringing you all the latest updates concerning the virus in Edinburgh and the Lothians on our live blog.
