THIS year's Newport Food Festival has been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Scheduled for Saturday, October 3, there were hopes that it might go ahead should cases continue to fall.

But in a statement today, Leader of Newport City Council Jane Mudd said: “It is with great sadness that we have taken the decision to cancel one of our most well-attended city events.

“This year would have been the festival’s tenth anniversary and we were planning one of the best events yet, but the health and safety of our residents, visitors and traders must be our priority.”

Newport Food Festival showcases over 75 stalls selling a wide range of products from award winning suppliers, with over 75 per cent being Welsh producers.

The event drew crowds in the their thousands last year.

The council said they had cancelled the event as it would "impossible to know at this time the level of restrictions" that may be in place come October.

They promised that they will "reschedule the food festival as soon as is safe and appropriate".

Councillor Mudd added: “I am sure that our stall holders, contractors, sponsors and visitors will be as disappointed as we are, but please be assured that we are busy working behind the scenes to ensure we can bring the food festival back as soon as possible.”

Kevin Ward, the manager of the Newport Now BID (Business Improvement District), said: "As sponsors of the food festival, we’re naturally disappointed the event has been cancelled but the decision was inevitable and entirely understandable.

"The festival attracts many thousands of people into the city centre and, as with many other annual events across the UK, it would not have been safe to stage given the current pandemic and social distancing restrictions that are likely to remain in place for many months."