The upcoming Picnic In The Park comedy shows have been cancelled.
Dara O Briain, Josh Widdicombe, Angela Barnes, Tom Allen, Reginald D Hunter and Desiree Burch were among the acts due to appear with Watson in Marlow, Bucks on September 24 and 25.
Mark Watson announced the news on Monday morning in a series of tweets saying: "These are off. It's been so much work and it's a(nother) huge financial blow but people's safety comes first. Going to change my Twitter header and retrain as a welder.
If you had tickets, you should already have been told and will get refunded very quickly but I'm just doubling down because I am very appreciative that people bought tickets and wanted to come. Thank you, and sorry. I am crushingly sad.
Also thank you so much to Chester and Norwich audiences who made the weekend a (bittersweet) delight. The immediate future for performers like me is a massive black hole but we'll be back with something. x"
There were also due to be music gigs featuring acts including Rick Astley and Jack Savoretti. Astley aplogised to his fans and Watson added: "On top of all the other disappointment, this was going to be the Watson/Astley hook-up the public has been clamouring for."
Watson, who is also famous for his marathon shows, also said "We'll do another 24-hour show online at the end of October, by the way; I'll make sure the internet is sanitised beforehand."
A statement from event host Tom Kerridge read: “In the last few days, it has become clear that the national picture is changing dramatically and there are significant new risk factors which aren’t yet clearly understood. Whilst we are really disappointed to take this decision, our priority has always been the safety of all involved and our home town of Marlow.”
A statement from the Pub in the Park team said: “We have been proud to operate 14 successful socially distanced events this summer since the rules allowed, but at no point have we taken risks with the health of our visitors. We have delivered a large amount of joy in a safe and reassuring way.
We are sorry to disappoint everyone who was planning to attend. We will keep inventing safe ways to have fun, always working closely with the authorities and within the guidelines. We would like to thank all our amazing customers, our artists, our chefs, and our team, all of whom have supported us this summer.
We hope to be able to present this brilliant line-up of talent in Marlow at some point in the future.’’
Refunds will be organised immediately for all ticket holders.
The Pub in the Park Team"
