Due to the current COVID situation, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust had been left with no choice but to cancel this year’s Livery Weekend that was scheduled for 11 – 14 June.
The following letter was sent –
Dear Master
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust London Livery Weekend Following discussions with the Lord Mayor’s office and on behalf of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust I write to notify you that unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we have had to cancel this year’s Livery Weekend 11 – 14 June.
Whilst extremely regrettable, we feel that we had no other option, due to the format of the event and the uncertainty around the easing of Covid 19 restrictions. The relationship between Ironbridge and the London Livery Companies spans nearly four decades and the weekend is a vitally important event in the Trust’s calendar; to have both the 2020 and 2021 weekends cancelled is devastating for us.
The last 12 months have been extremely turbulent for the Trust. Only being able to open five museums for five months of 2020, (with reduced capacity due to social distancing measures) led to a £4million loss in visitor income (70%).
An application to the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund was successful and this is enabling us to implement improvements to our sites and programming to ensure that we are ready to open all of our museums in a safe and secure way once the current lockdown is lifted.
The senior management team worked hard to secure the future viability of the Trust and feel confident that its new three year ‘Turn Around Plan’ will be achieved. To support the plan we have launched a ‘Keep Ironbridge Running’ fundraising appeal.
We remain extremely grateful for the past support provided by the Livery Companies and would ask you to consider making a donation to our ‘Keep Ironbridge Running’ fundraising appeal in lieu of attending this year’s Ironbridge Livery Weekend. Donations can be made here.
Whilst the pandemic has thwarted Livery Weekend in 2020 and now in 2021 we do hope that we will be able to welcome the City of London Livery Companies back to Ironbridge in future years.
With best regards,
Yours sincerely
Nick Ralls, CEO
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