Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment

Recommendations:

1.    That approval be given to the cancellation of the 2020 Rotherham Show in its traditional form.

2.    That approval be given to the development of an alternative programme of events and activities which can be safely delivered in its place.

3.    That approval be given for the Production Board to continue to plan for the safe delivery of Rotherham Show in 2021.

Consideration was given to a report which detailed the implications for holding the Rotherham Show 2020 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and proposed alternative arrangements.

It was reported that in considering the implications for the Rotherham Show scheduled for September 2020, officers and the Production Board had taken account of:

·       Health and safety of public, workers and volunteers

·       Legal implications

·       Financial implications

·       Quality of experience for the public

·       Reputational impact

On this basis, it was proposed that the Rotherham Show 2020 be cancelled and an alternative programme should be offered. Cancellation was recommended in recognition of the fact that if it was not possible to create an event that was recognisable as Rotherham Show or that could bring people together safely at scale, then it would be better not to compromise the reputation which had been built up over the previous forty years.  It was reported that partners recognised that, in the absence of the Show and in recognition of the extraordinary experience of the pandemic, there was a need for an alternative programme of projects and activities which would:

·       Enable people to express and make sense of the experience of the last few months

·       Create memorials/ways to remember those who have lost their lives 

·       Provide hope and support for grieving families, complementing clinical counselling services

·       Combat loneliness and bring communities back together safely (either online, or in socially distanced household groups)

·       Support, and celebrate the contribution of, staff, key workers and volunteers

·       Revitalise morale, pride and confidence in Rotherham (supporting economic recovery)

Resolved:-

1.    That approval be given to the cancellation of the 2020 Rotherham Show in its traditional form.

2.    That approval be given to the development of an alternative programme of events and activities which can be safely delivered in its place.

3.    That approval be given for the Production Board to continue to plan for the safe delivery of Rotherham Show in 2021.