AN annual international music festival has been cancelled as part of the ongoing effort to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Durham BRASS was due to take place across the county, with ten days of live gigs, open air concerts, street parties and school performances to entertain all ages, from July 10 to 19.

Following a regular review of its events programme in line with Government guidance over social distancing, Durham County Council, which organises the festival, made the “regrettable but necessary decision” to cancel BRASS.

It follows cancellation of several other council-run events, including Bishop Auckland Food Festival, Durham Adventure Festival and Seaham Food Festival.

An estimated 40,000-plus people were said to have experienced Durham BRASS last year, boosting the county’s economy by hundreds of thousands of pounds and introducing new audiences to 21st century brass music from around the world.

Councillor Joy Allen, the council’s cabinet member for transformation, culture and tourism, said: “BRASS has been delighting audiences of all ages for more than a decade and has helped put County Durham on the cultural map, so we are sorry it cannot go ahead this year.

“It is vital we follow the Government’s social distancing guidelines and our main priority is the health our communities, visitors, musicians, partners, sponsors, festival staff, and volunteers.

“BRASS is all about bringing people together, both in terms of our international line up of musicians and our wonderful Big Brass Bash parties.

“Sadly, this is just not possible this year.

“However, we know how uplifting music can be, especially during difficult times like these, and we will continue to spread the joy of BRASS through our social media channels until we can all get together again.”

Further information about BRASS can be found via www.brassfestival.co.uk and follow @BrassInternationalFestival on Facebook and @DurhamBRASS on Twitter and Instagram.