Students left with £40k debt after proms are rained off

Flooding in Rowntree Park

Council Officials told organisers that the event could not go ahead at around 2pm, just an hour before performances were to begin.

One onlooker told the yorker that when they realised that the spectacular show would not be able to go ahead, the understandably devastated organisers, "sat down and cried."

The event had to be cancelled after one of the two access routes for emergency vehicles flooded, whilst the other route had a dangerously high water level which would have exceeded a safe level should any further rainfall occur, or any water make its way downstream.

Much of the park itself had escaped immediate flooding but Health and Safety officials could not guarantee the safety of visitors making York Proms the second high-profile event in as many days that had to be cancelled due to the adverse weather.

York’s Tourist industry had suffered a double blow as the second Race meet of the season was also called off in an unprecedented move.

The Proms were due to be held at Rowntree Park, which runs parallel to the River Ouse, an area which floods regularly.

Visitors making their way to the park in the early afternoon were met by events staff issuing them with instructions for refunds, instead of wristbands. As the evening began and the finale should have been beginning some visitors decided to remain in the park area eating their picnics and starting their own renditions of Land and Hope of Glory.

The financial losses are thought to run to tens of thousands of pounds and left organisers calculating how far their insurance will go to off-setting the estimated £40,000 losses.

Whilst the event was covered by insurance, it is, as of yet, unclear whether this will help fund organisational costs such as administration and equipment costs, as well as events staff.

The concert had been organised by a group of University of York students, with backing from the City of York Council, the University of York and BBC Radio York. It was due to showcase 400 local performers and would have seen spectacular performances such as the first performance of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack in the UK.

The decision was not just because of rain on the day.

The highlight of the event was due to be the synchronisation of York Film Orchestra, a specially constructed orchestral group, with pyrotechnics, water fountains and columns of fire.

The general feeling of visitors arriving at the Park for the beginning of the event was that of disappointment, a sentiment echoed by the York Students who organised it.

When The Yorker spoke to the organisers they expressed their bitter disappointment that the event had to be cancelled. Talks are now underway as to how best repair the financial losses and how to counteract the disappointment visitors encountered.

Jordan Steer, one of the students who had organised the event said the cancellation "Was not because of poor weather on the day (as it was actually nice) but because of the risk of the park flooding. The water cut off one of two emergency vehicle access gates and the park's flood defence wall was close to collapsing and close to cutting off the other one. For this reason City of York Council officials told us we had to cancel the event. The decision was not just because of rain on the day."

Proceeds from the Proms were due to go to York Charitable Foundation and, ultimately, towards the establishment of musical education schemes in the local area. The large-scale event had the backing of the City of York Council and was organised through the University of York’s Centre for Enterprise Teaching and Learning (CETL).