24.03.20
It is with great sadness we announce that this year’s Manchester Jazz Festival is cancelled.
Along with the rest of the population, our hope is that the situation surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic improves in the coming months. However it is too great a risk for our staff, artists and partners to embark on delivering large scale events across the city during the worst public health crisis in a generation.
Manchester Jazz Festival formed in 1996 and has now become the city’s longest-running music festival. Our very first festival was cancelled on the day due to the city centre bomb in Manchester, so it is a strange book end to the first quarter century of our history that this, our 25th anniversary, will also be cancelled.
We know this news will come as a disappointment and we’d like to reassure everyone that we will be back in 2021. Those who have bought tickets to this year’s festival will be entitled to a full refund and should contact the booking agent they used to make their original purchase.
In the meantime, we’ll be working on supporting all artists across the North West and beyond. Please stay tuned over the coming months as we switch our focus to digital projects, so we can continue celebrate the work of our extraordinary artists with our loyal audiences.
Some of our partner venues may continue with the festival events they had programmed between May 21 -25. Although these gigs will no longer be part of mjf2020, if they are able to continue we ask you to support these events where you can.
mjf Artistic Director Steve Mead, said: “It’s with a heavy heart that we’re forced to announce the cancellation of mjf 2020. The festival team has been working hard all year round towards this year’s event, and artists – our greatest asset – are now enduring a sudden downturn in their livelihoods.
“Although I won’t be there with you in person to share their inspiring music, we’re turning our attention to digital platforms to share some of their music with you instead. Music will keep our spirits high.”