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Cancellation of Bristol Flower Show on the Downs 17th-19th August

Bristol City Council, The Downs Committee and the Royal Bath and West of England Society regret to announce the cancellation of next month's Bristol Flower Show due to adverse ground conditions caused by the recent exceptionally poor weather and uncertainty about medium term weather forecasts.

The show was due to be staged at Durdham Down on August 17th, 18th and 19th and this year's would have been the 63rd annual event.

However, grounds maintenance experts are concerned that staging the show on extremely wet ground at this time could potentially pose a risk to the health and safety of exhibitors and visitors, seriously damage the environment and make ground conditions significantly worse for future events.

Organisers are also mindful of the financial and operational difficulties experienced by events that have gone ahead in very poor weather conditions, such as the recent Ashton Court Festival. Already, the downpours across the UK have meant a slow take up of stalls by commercial traders for the show and a number of other similar horticultural shows across the UK have also had to be cancelled.

Lord Mayor of Bristol, Cllr Royston Griffey, Chair of the Downs Committee, said: "It is extremely regrettable that this year's show has had to be cancelled and it has been a very hard decision for the Royal Bath and West Society, the city council and The Downs Committee to take. We know that the many people who enjoy the Flower Show every year will be extremely disappointed. However, all the professional and expert advice is absolutely clear that that the financial, environmental and health and safety risks are potentially too great. It is best to make a decision now and let exhibitors and those planning to travel to the show know exactly where they stand so they can change their arrangements."

Jane Guise, Chief Executive of the Royal Bath and West of England Society, said: "The cancellation of this year's Bristol Flower show is a great sadness to the staff of the RB&W, the organisers of the show. We enjoy working with the City of Bristol and are proud of the event.

" The difficult decision has been made in the light of this summer's weather patterns, and the horrendous financial implications of last minute cancellation or a very wet show. The Downs are a community facility and the effect of holding a wet show on the ground conditions would be awful. We have watched the fortunes of other shows during this unprecedented rainfall, and decided that early cancellation was the best option all round, for exhibitors, contractors and visitors alike."

Tickets already purchased will be refunded by returning them to the ticket office. However they will also be valid for entry to the National Amateur Gardening show being held on the Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet from 31 August to 2 September, by kind permission of Amateur Gardening Magazine. This show will go ahead regardless of the weather because it enjoys the huge range of buildings and tarmac roads on the showground, rendering it weather proof.