Community / Wool Week cancelled again
SHETLAND Wool Week has been postponed again due to the ongoing uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The festival, which was due to take place at the end of September, was also shelved in 2020, with an emphasis placed instead on virtual events.
The popular Wool Week is thought to bring around £2 million into the local economy, with folk flocking to Shetland from across the world.
Sandy Middleton, interim CEO at organiser Shetland Amenity Trust, said: “We are extremely disappointed to have to postpone Shetland Wool Week for the second year running, but after careful consideration with our sponsors and committee, it is our view that it is the responsible thing to do.
“While the initial roll out of vaccines is encouraging, it is still a time of great uncertainty and our primary concern is for the safety of the island community and our Wool Week visitors, who join us from all over the world.
“Instead, the SWW team will be planning for an online version of the event to take place during what would have been Shetland Wool Week and build on the success and enthusiasm for last year’s virtual programme.
“SWW Patron for 2020, Wilma Malcolmson, has kindly agreed to extend her role for a second year and we are delighted that she has designed a new SWW hat pattern which will be launched at the start of April and will be available as a free download from the Wool Week website.”
The amenity trust said Shetland Boat Week and the Shetland Nature Festival will also be cancelled this year.
It does hope, however, to deliver a number of smaller, local events outdoors throughout the year.
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