Due to the current spell of wet weather and taking into account the longer term forecast of further rainfall for most of June, the organisers of TourFest at Lockwood Park in Huddersfield have decided to cancel their three day event that was to coincide with the Tour de France between 4th and 6th July. Event organiser Donal O’Driscoll said, “This has been an incredibly tough decision to make. The time invested in organising this event goes into the hundreds of hours since last August. There has also been significant spending on marketing and advertising. All those who have already booked with us will get a full refund though.”
The organisers met on Tuesday with committee members of Huddersfield RUFC, who own the venue. It quickly became evident that the event could be seriously compromised if it was to go ahead. Fellow organiser, Darren Hollingworth said, “This has all come about because of the weather. We know the club are as disappointed about this as we are. Lockwood Park is a fantastic venue and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the Tour de France in style with hundreds of people using the Park as their base. With the current conditions we can’t assure that quality experience.”
A spokesman of the Huddersfield RUFC commented “the amount of rain was certainly one of the main considerations for agreeing to cancel the event, but it was in combination with a number of other factors including volume of tickets sold to date. For those still wishing to watch the Tour at Lockwood the grounds will be open to park cars from 7am until 4pm and the club house will be open for refreshments throughout the day.”
