Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival has had to be called off due to heavy rain and a poor forecast for the four-day event, due to start on Thursday August 3.

The decision was taken by organisers Huddersfield Live in consultation with Kirklees Council. Organisers said the weather left them with no other choice.

The popular event – last held in 2019 – was due to take place in Greenhead Park for the first time but conditions underfoot, with further rain forecast, made that impossible.

Sam Watt, director of Huddersfield Live, said: “In a month where we have seen record-breaking rainfall, and after 48 hours of incessant rain across our site, we are devastated that this weekend’s festival has been cancelled.

“Despite our best efforts on Wednesday, poor ground conditions mean we have, in conjunction with Kirklees Council, had to concede it is practically impossible for us to get equipment and traders onto the site safely and create a great event for everyone.”

Planned works in and around St George’s Square meant the usual venue wasn’t available hence the switch to the park.

Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival in St George’s Square. Image by: Dave Calverley at PhotoLens

Sam added: “Everyone here at Huddersfield Live is devastated but with the weather predicted to worsen, we – like many other event organisers across the country this weekend – are having to cancel our festival.

“This comes as a huge blow to us and our traders, as this was to be our first full-scale festival since Covid.

“We’ve worked so hard for the last 18 months to plan how we return even bigger and better than before, only to be thwarted at the last minute by the weather.

“We pride ourselves on delivering great experiences for Huddersfield to be proud of and to continue with the festival this weekend would go against what we believe in.

“Our immediate priority is to focus on our traders and suppliers but we very much see this as a postponement rather than a cancellation.

“We’ll be spending the next few days contacting all of those who have supported us to work out if it’s possible to reschedule the event in a few weeks’ time, so our message to our faithful festival goers is to keep a close eye on our social media channels for further announcements about a new date.”