Norwich Beer Festival 2020 has been cancelled due to coronavirus.

Eastern Daily Press: James Woodrow at the main bar, Norwich Beer Festival 2019. Picture: Jamie HoneywoodJames Woodrow at the main bar, Norwich Beer Festival 2019. Picture: Jamie Honeywood (Image: Jamie HoneywoodArchantNorwichNorfolk)

The event was due to open on Monday, October 21 and run until Saturday, October 26 at St Andrew’s Hall in the city centre.

On Facebook, organisers, the Norwich and District CAMRA, said the 43rd beer festival had been postponed until next year.

They said they made the decision to cancel this year’s event as it was “not possible to run a festival” after taking into consideration both government and national CAMRA guidelines.

The post said: “Norwich & District CAMRA are sorry to announce that the 43rd Norwich Beer Festival, due to go ahead in October, has been postponed until next year - we hope the Festival will be back in October 2021.”

“In making this decision, the organisers have taken into account current Government and national CAMRA guidelines, and believe that, given the likely restrictions on numbers and procedures, it would not be possible to run a festival this year.

“We are also acutely aware of the current plight of pubs, and would not wish to reduce what trade they currently have by competing with them for customers.

“To do what we can to help them recover, we intend to organise a pub promotion, to replace the festival and support Branch-area pubs - watch this space for details.

“We know that our customers and volunteers will be deeply disappointed by this decision, but hope you will all understand that we have had no alternative, and we hope to see you all again next year!”