Organisers behind West Lothian’s Party at the Palace hit out at Scottish Government after the festival was been cancelled for the second year running due to Covid-19 fears.
Local lads The Snuts, Fraser McLean and Mark Sharp & the Bicycle Thieves were due to play in front of 18,000 punters at the festival scheduled for August 8 and 9.
West Lothian was moved down to Level Zero this week, meaning outdoor events can go ahead with crowds up to 2,000 but the organisers behind PATP said in a statement a lack of guidance is forcing them to shelve the weekend. .
It said: “It is with huge disappointment and frustration that we have to announce the cancellation of both Party at The Palace in Linlithgow and Party at The Park in Perth.
“Unfortunately, we were left with absolutely no alternative and we feel particularly let down by a lack of communication and guidance from Scottish Government.
“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.
“We were also disappointed that Scottish Government could not deliver an insurance policy for events.
“Although we recognise that this is a reserved matter and the responsibility of the UK Government, we felt that if there had been a real willingness to get events in Scotland back on, more could have been done.
“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.”
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