There will be an Isle of WIght Jazz Weekend, but on a reduced scale. There's just so much uncertainty, and September isn't that far away! DO come - the dredging should have finished - and there'll be some great music.
Below is an update we recently emailed to those on our mailing list.

Isle of Wight Jazz Weekend Update

Unfortunately we have made the difficult decision to reduce the size of the 2021 Isle of Wight Jazz Weekend, which was scheduled for 8-12 September, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic and the continuation of restrictions until at least 19 July.

With social distancing restrictions not being relaxed as of 21 June, and without any guarantee of when they will be relaxed or what rules may still be in force, or what the position may be with regard to the virus and any variants or other developments by September, and particularly given that all of our gigs are indoors, we cannot take the risk of going ahead with a full weekend. The budget for the Jazz Weekend is substantial and we cannot afford to take any financial risks given that we are a voluntary organisation without any substantial sponsors. We rely on ticket money to cover costs and we can't wait until 19 July (the next Government announcement) to confirm the event and start selling tickets because that would only be 7 weeks before the festival - the acts, accommodation and programme are normally confirmed 4 or 5 months in advance and tickets are on sale usually for 4 months. If the announcement on 19 July resulted in any further delay in lifting of restrictions, then we would face financial ruin. We feel in the circumstances it is better to delay our full event until June 2022 to ensure that it continues as an annual event for years to come, rather than risk going ahead this year with the chance that it could be our final year. Although that risk is small, it is still a risk we have decided not to take.

There will therefore be an Isle of Wight Jazz Weekend in late May / early June 2022.

We are intending to run a smaller jazz event on Saturday 11 September featuring Island-based musicians at one or two venues. This will be confirmed once we know what happens on 19 July. To find out the latest news please check our website or Facebook page and make sure you have signed up at info@iwjw.co.uk.

With Best Wishes and our thanks for your understanding and continued support

Jim Thorn

Event Director

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Hi all
Thank you John for updates on Newport and keeping us informed on tbe progress.
We Seals are pleased to see its open agsin for visitors.
Julie and Iueun have volunteered to be our rally organiser fpt the weekend the jazz festival is going on.
We look forward to seeing lots of you there
Peter Lowry