West End arts festival Inside Out postponed until next year

By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter

An open-air arts festival due to take place in the West End in a few days’ time has been postponed to next year, just two weeks after it was announced.

Westminster council was a key backer of the Inside Out Festival, which was only announced on September 17, and was due to take place between Thursday, October 1 and Sunday, October 4.

The council also said that its summer al fresco dining initiative – where restaurants in more than 50 locations were allowed to put tables and chairs in side streets – will end in late October.

West End musicals, the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, and the Royal Philharmonic Brass Ensemble all featured on Inside Out’s highbrow line-up.

But on Friday, September 25, the council gave an update via its email newsletter that the festival will instead take place “early next year”.

This was hours after London’s 32 boroughs were added to the Government’s national “watch list” of areas experiencing a worrying growth in COVID-19 cases.

Pictured top: Inside Out festival has been postponed for this year