‘Extreme’ rainfall has forced Saturday’s Festival of Light to be cancelled.
The much-loved event which returned to Sunderland’s Mowbray Park last month has been hit by cancellations this week after a string of bad weather.
Saturday’s event is the latest to be cancelled after heavy rainfall led to poor ground conditions in the park.
Sunderland Cllr Peter Walker said: “Following the extreme rainfall over the past few days, we’ve reluctantly taken the decision to cancel the Festival of Light this Saturday (November 4) due to the ground conditions on site.
“As always, our priority is to protect the health and safety of our visitors and contractors at the same time as preserving ground conditions in the park for future use. We also want visitors to enjoy the festival and to come away with happy memories.
“I know it's disappointing, but I hope people will understand given the heavy rain over the last few days, on top of that over the last two weeks.
“We’ll also be keeping an eye on the weather forecast before deciding whether the Festival of Light event will go ahead on Sunday.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope to be able to reopen as soon as possible.”
It was previously cancelled on Thursday and Friday (November 1-2) due to Storm Ciaran and had to be called off when Storm Babet hit last month.
It is the latest event to be cancelled this weekend with a host of firework displays axed due to the weather.
Organisers say anyone with tickets for Saturday will be contacted and offered the choice of rebooking or a refund.
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Those who get the chance to visit can look forward to live music from the bandstand, 'Selfie Lane' with its series of instagrammable selfie opportunities and a sparkling light tunnel.
While a fairy trail which saw its debut in Australia earlier this year, will lead visitors through an atmospheric woodland glade full of swaying fibre-optic tufts to an illuminated fairy door transformed into a mesmerising and magical symphony of light and sound, to create a colour changing immersive experience.
The Festival of Light usually runs from 4pm - 9pm every Thursday to Sunday until Saturday, November 11.
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