Rotorua's GLO Festival 2020 has been cancelled

The fireworks display at last year's GLO Festival on New Year's Eve. Photo / Supplied

This year's GLO Festival has been cancelled.

The free annual event, held on New Year's Eve, usually attracts about 15,000 people to the Village Green for a family evening of music, local talent, movies, performing arts and fireworks.

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"With the end of the year just three months away, and significant uncertainty still existing around New Zealand's ability to host large events as a result of Covid-19, we were left with no choice but to cancel," the council's arts and culture manager Stewart Brown said in a statement.

"We need significant lead time to secure things like fireworks, stage, entertainers, sound and lighting, along with all the necessary event permits. Despite having now moved to alert level 1, the ongoing uncertainty means we have been unable to commit to these things."

New Year's Eve falls on a Thursday this year, so the Rotorua Night Market team will be looking at ways to add some extra special family entertainment to the market that night, the statement said.

Children enjoying the 2019 GLO Festival. Photo / Supplied

The GLO Festival is a popular community event and, as long as external factors provide certainty around large-scale events again, the council plans to bring it back for New Year's Eve 2021.

With Covid-19, the council said in the statement it has had to look across all of its budgets to make savings. GLO had hoped to attract funding from the recently announced Domestic Event Fund, but was unsuccessful.

The festival has previously had the backing of a number of external funders including Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, Four Winds and One Foundation.

- Supplied copy