Flood aid event axed at 11th hour

The Flood Aid concert, which was planned for Queen's Gardens on Sunday, will not go ahead amid fears over safety and the control of alcohol.

Event organiser Steve Walker said: "I am very disappointed."

It is the second major event cancelled in Hull this summer after a two-day festival to mark the life of William Wilberforce was scrapped in June.

The Freedom Rocks event, which had been due to feature headline acts Keane and Groove Armada, was reportedly cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Spiralling security costs

Mr Walker said Sunday's event had been cancelled in the wake of trouble at a live music event in the city's East Park last Saturday, when police had to be called in to close down a dance music tent.

The cost of providing adequate security at Queen's Gardens would have broken the event's budget, he said.

"We had a meeting with the police, the council events team and our own security team and came to the conclusion that we'd have to call this off," he said.

"After the events of East Park we would have had to police a no-alcohol zone at Queen's Gardens which was impossible on our budget."

He said police had offered to provide a presence, but that would have cost the promoters more than £20,000.

Attempts were being made to find an alternative venue for Flood Aid, Mr Walker added.

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