A POPULAR event on the Denbighshire calendar cancelled this year may return as a digital event in 2021, according to its organising committee.

The well attended Ruthin Festival, a week long series of musical and cultural events culminating on the last Saturday of the week in the Top of Town event, has taken place every summer since 1996.

However, the entire festival week for 2020, scheduled for June 27 to July 5, was cancelled in April as a result of the Covid pandemic.

Now, fresh plans are in place to see the event return next year - even that means going online.

Vice-chair Jim Bryan said: "Although everyone is hoping we can have a festival like in years gone by, if this is not possible in 2021 then we hope to have a digital festival that will be available online, like other events and festivals have done during this period of social distancing.

"The festival’s Top of Town event will return to its home on the square in the future as soon as possible, and we will make sure it’s a great event to bring the community back together after this difficult time."

The voluntary committee are meeting on Zoom on a regular basis, and have started discussing the 2021 event.

Although plans are still at a very early stage, the committee still intend on holding an event next year if the Covid guidelines and regulations allow.

The festival committee acknowledges that the festival week in its traditional format will not be possible if social distancing measures and the current guidelines will still be in place in the summer of 2021.

Festival committee chair Gwion Tomos said: “We were devastated to have to announce that the Ruthin Festival in 2020 was cancelled, including the ‘Top of Town’ event, but obviously the guidelines at the time made holding such events impossible.

“The health and safety of the attending public, artists and volunteers was and continues to be more important than anything else. Despite the disappointment of the voluntary committee in having to cancel, we were all very aware of the effect of the decision would have on the local community and local businesses, but in hindsight it was absolutely the right and only decision to be made."

Further announcements will be made on the festival’s social media pages.