Maiden City Festival called off

Scenes of the Siege of Derry are re-enacted

The organisers of the Apprentice Boys' Maiden City Festival in Londonderry have called off this year's event.

Bluegrass music concerts planned for the city walls, fireworks, and children's events have all been cancelled.

Organisers said "endless layers" of bureaucracy delayed the festival's funding.

David Hoey, one of the orgnaisers, said he and his colleagues were having to spend most of their time fundraising.

"We work for three or four months and then you have only got a few weeks to organise the festival," he said.

"We believe that you need a very clear funding process right up front well in advance so you can organise not just one year's festival, but have a bit of security so that you can approach commercial sponsors to look for three or four years ahead.

"The difficulty with the process is that without being able to tell a commercial sponsor that this is going to go ahead they are not going to support you and invest their brand money."

Siege

A few events will be held in 2006 during the week before 12 August, but not as Maiden City Festival activity.

The Apprentice Boys have said the postponement of the festival is temporary and that they have plans for a comprehensive event in 2007.

The festival was created to extend an understanding of the Protestant culture among all communities within the city.

The variety of exhibitions, shows, talks and evening entertainment and culminated with the loyal order's Relief of Derry celebrations.

The festival commemorates the actions of Protestant Apprentice Boys who shut the city gates against the forces of the Catholic King James in December 1688.

King James laid siege to the city from December to August 1689 until the Protestant forces of King William of Orange relieved the city.