Festival rows in online

The team behind a music festival in West Cork has said it is “devastated” that it once again must be held online.

West Cork Music (WCM) announced on Tuesday that the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which is due to take place from 25 June-4 July has to move online.

Since last summer the team at WCM said it has been making every effort to produce a live festival for 2021.

A WCM statement said: “The festival’s plans for a live event were just completed with a full programme available on the website when the pandemic’s third wave struck. Once it became clear that the uncertainty around restrictions would not be resolved, the team had to accept that a live festival with a live audience would not be possible. “After more than a year listening to music through the veil of a computer screen, the 2021 festival was intended as a celebration of live music and to cancel it is a blow to everyone involved.”

The WCM team is now focused on curating a virtual festival. Building on the experiences of last year, a larger online programme will be created with a more engaging and interactive online experience. Almost all the musicians engaged for the original programme will present at least one filmed concert from venues around Europe and the USA.

The programme for the 2021 Virtual West Cork Chamber Music Festival will be announced over the coming month.