Organisers 'hopeful' Cromer Carnival 2021 will be able to take place

The chairman of Cromer Carnival has said he is hopeful the popular event will be able to go ahead in some form this year.

Taking place across three weeks in August, Cromer Carnival attracts thousands of people to the town every year especially on carnival day which traditionally falls on a Wednesday.

Like many events, the 2020 Cromer Carnival had to be cancelled because of coronavirus but Tony Shipp, chairman of the Cromer Carnival organising committee, has said he and his colleagues are "really hopeful" the 2021 event, which will be Mr Shipp's 50th carnival, will be able to go ahead.

Mr Shipp said: "Our hope is that we will be able to stage some sort of carnival. Really it all depends on how quickly the vaccine gets handed out and what the situation is by the time we get to June and July. "

Mr Shipp said if the committee was unable to put on an event for a large crowd then "it couldn't really go ahead" with the carnival but that members were currently optimistic.

"We are really hopeful and really I think it will depend on that next couple of months as to what we can do," he said.

Mr Shipp said after being forced to cancel the 2020 celebration the committee had been able to postpone some the carnival's bigger events and bookings to 2021.

He said: "We would have started planning in September but some of the planning [for this year] is already in place if we are able to go ahead but there's still a lot of organising it with North Norfolk District Council, road closures need to be put in place, and these can't happen on one day for the next, so we need about three months really to work on to get enough prepared and in place."

Mr Shipp said although organised by a committee, the carnival belonged to Cromer and its residents.

He said: "If you speak to the majority of people in the town it's their carnival we're just the organisers of it and we take great pride in it but it's a town event."