08-05-2025
Major family event cancelled: 'It's sad but means we live to fight another day'
York Proms in Museum Gardens is going ahead in summer 2025 - but the Junior Proms has been put off. (Image: Bobby Van Wyke)
A MAJOR open-air event planned for York this summer has been cancelled as a casualty of the cost-of-living crisis.
York Junior Proms was due to be held in Museum Gardens with a special programme for children on Monday 28th July, a day after the popular picnic concert York Proms.
But organiser Rebecca Newman said spiralling costs and the economic uncertainty made the event too big a risk despite lots of work already done behind the scenes.
The York soprano star said it had been a difficult decision but was sensible - and meant 'we live to fight another day'.
York Proms, which was a sell-out success last year, is still going ahead on Sunday 27th July, featuring a live orchestra, opera soloists and fireworks finale.
Rebecca said: 'I have been trying to get this [Junior Proms] off the ground this year but there are so many moving parts. A few things were looking very promising but there's too much risk. Everyone is feeling the cost-of-living crisis, and a lot of events are being cancelled. We have all been victim of spiralling costs.
Rebecca Newman on the main stage at York Proms (Image: Bobby Van Wyke/ York Proms)'People wait to book, especially with outdoor events, but we have to hit certain early targets to have the confidence that the event will work.
'When we talk about the event people's eyes light up – there's nothing like it in the UK at the moment. But if we move too soon it could prevent it from coming back in the future. It's a shame but this is the sensible decision so we can potentially launch something next year.'
About 150 children usually attend the York Proms but the Junior Proms was being curated specifically for younger audience, with an afternoon start to be more family friendly.
Rebecca said: 'I am trying to do something lovely for York. I do believe it will come together, and I really want this to exist in York. That's what drives me.
'We started in 2017, and we have now done three Proms, because we lost two years from Covid. York Proms is still recovering from Covid. Our costs increased by 40 per cent during the period of Covid but they have never gone back down. My insurance is double this year, plus the cost-of-living crisis.
York Proms 2024 was a sell-out success (Image: York Proms) 'I am not someone who will just fold a company and then walk away. This is my city. York Proms is doing really well – all our sponsorships have been filled – and we want to protect that. The Junior Proms will have its day - maybe when Trump isn't having a trade war.'
She added: 'We get a lot of out-of-town promoters in York who have the money to experiment and lose money on events while it gets established but local home-grown producers and promoters are the people we want to put on events, so they are part of the culture of the city. We don't have the money to try things out and make losses.
"We have to keep our fingers on the pulse to know when the time is right. I couldn't have made this decision in a month because it would have been too late. Hopefully, by doing this now, it means we live to fight another day.'
