The organisers of the VAULT Festival 2022 have made the ‘gut-wrenching’ decision to cancel the event in response to concerns about keeping staff and artists safe following the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Announcing the cancellation of the 1oth anniversary event at the distinctive subterranean arts venue in London’s Waterloo, VAULT Creative Arts’ Andy George and Adam Gray said: “We have worked non-stop over the past 21 months to recover from the devastation caused by the lost week of 2020’s Festival and the full postponement of 2021.
“VAULT Festival 2022 was set to be our most exciting Festival to date, marking our tenth anniversary year. The challenges posed by Covid-19 have always been at the forefront of our preparations and we’ve undertaken extensive scenario planning in order to be able to deliver a safe, welcoming, and celebratory event that could overcome them. It is therefore with broken hearts that we make this statement.”
Featuring a mix of new theatre, comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, live performances and late-night events, over 600 shows had been due to feature in the Festival which was to run from 25 January until 20 March.
In recognition of the effect of the cancellation of the event at such short notice the VAULT Creative Arts team is working to minimise and limit the financial burden on artists.
VAULT Creative Arts will waive and swallow all venue-related costs. Any artist deposits already paid will be returned in full. Any artists or productions that have already cancelled their runs will have their cancellation fee waived entirely.
The cost of any artist optional services including brochure advertisements, flyer deals, optional tech services and hires that artists have signed up for will be covered. VAULT Creative Arts is also working to provide practical, emotional and financial support to freelancers affected.
Audiences are being contacted and are being offered the option to donate the value of their ticket or receive a refund. Any donated tickets will be split with the artist of that show as per the ticket split in their agreements.
VAULT Creative Arts will be announcing alternative plans to ensure they can provide ongoing support for all festival staff, artists and participants.
The team at VAULT Creative Arts is also closely monitoring the situation around Covid-19 and is ‘working to bring live performance in some form to its audiences as soon as it’s possible and safe to do so’.
Angela Thomas
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