The Lord Mayor (Cllr David Fullman in 2017) steps out on his procession – Photo © Julian Swainson 

One of the city’s best-loved events will sadly not take place this year.

The Lord Mayor’s Celebration is a popular highlight of the city’s events calendar each year, bringing a range of free performances and activities to the city centre over three days.

Following the decision to cancel the 2020 event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing uncertainty regarding the virus means it will not be returning to the city this year.

While the planned government roadmap out of lockdown indicates the country may be free from restrictions from June, this event relies on significant planning, partnership work and community participation several months in advance of the event itself – activities which have not been possible throughout the current UK-wide lockdown.

The free to attend, citywide nature of the event also meant it would have been impossible to put any kind of limit on the number of people attending – something which also factored strongly into the decision to cancel the event this year.

Councillor Alan Waters, leader of Norwich City Council, said: “Although the situation regarding Covid is fortunately much improved, it is still not possible to plan an event relying on such high levels of physical community engagement from the planning stage onwards.

“The safety of artists, participants, staff and attendees is always central to the preparation and delivery of our events, and we sadly could not guarantee this at the present time.

“Creating cultural opportunities for the city is a key theme of our Covid recovery plan, and so we eagerly look forward to bringing this event back in 2022.”

For the latest information on other events in 2021, visit www.norwich.gov.uk/events