Delting Up Helly Aa planning to go ahead with 2022 event

THE ORGANISERS of the Delting Up Helly Aa say they are planning to go ahead with their 2022 festival.

The festival is scheduled to take place in March next year.

It comes after Scalloway, Lerwick and Bressay announced they would be holding off until 2023 over continued uncertainty around large events and Covid regulations, while a lack of preparation time was also a factor for the town event.

But the Delting committee say they are “ready to go” having had their 2020 festival cancelled at the last minute.

They said the will keep a close on on how Covid regulations pan out.

Writing on Facebook, the committee said: “Surrounding other festivals further postponing, we the Delting Up-Helly-Aa committee can confirm that at this time we plan to go ahead in March 2022.

“We will closely monitor the governments guidelines and Covid roadmap Scotland throughout the coming months.

“In due course, we will meet with all the relevant persons and venues involved with the running of our festival, and update the public once decisions are in place.

“Unlike most other UHA festivals, we are in a better position and ready to go as we had postponed before our festival could go ahead in March 2020.”

The Delting and South Mainland Up Helly Aas were the only two fire festivals which never managed to go ahead in 2020 after the pandemic struck.

All of Shetland’s fire festivals were postponed in 2021.