Wednesday 27th May would have marked the launch of Chichester Cathedral’s Festival of Flowers 2020.
The biennial event sees thousands of people visit Chichester to see spectacular floral arrangements and join festivities which take over 22 months of meticulous planning.
However, following the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and in response to the Government’s guidance, the decision was made to postpone the event until 2021.
The Cathedral would like to thank all of those involved in the Festival of Flowers and will be recognising their efforts by sharing videos and photos from 2018’s Festival across social media. The Flower Arrangers have also created miniature floral displays from their homes which will be shared online.
The Dean of Chichester, The Very Reverend Stephen Waine, said:
“Hundreds of people work incredibly hard to put the Festival of Flowers together. On top of being a scene of creativity and beauty – enjoyed by all of our visitors – the Festival also raises vital funds to conserve and protect the sacred heritage of the Cathedral.”
Lyn Robinson is the first Festival Designer in the 26 year history of the event to respond to a Festival postponement, and has therefore made an extra twelve month commitment. Lyn said:
“In normal circumstances we would be in the throes of the Festival of Flowers, enjoying the crowds appreciating our efforts over the past months. Instead, we are thinking of all the amazing volunteers who would be dedicating their time to this event - we could not hold such a successful event without them all, and remain enormously grateful to each and every one of them as we look forward to returning greater than ever in 2021.”
The Festival of Flowers 2021 will take place between 3rd – 5th June 2021.