Brass Bands England (BBE) has confirmed the cancellation of the 2021 National Youth Brass Championships.

The event was scheduled to have been held on the last weekend in March, but the ongoing concerns over the nationwide effects of the Coronavirus pandemic made this impossible.

Disappointing news

BBE Chief Executive Officer Kenny Crookston told 4BR: "This is obviously going to be very disappointing news to many, but it will come as a surprise to no one given the current circumstances.

We've considered a number of options for the staging of next year's Youth Champs, but ultimately the problems currently being faced by every band in the country make it impossible to plan for such a detailed event at this time."

Possibilities

BBE has confirmed that plans are underway to host the 2022 event on the weekend of 26th/27th March, with the possibility of providing bands with a non-competitive performance opportunity later in 2021.

Kenny Crookston added: "The venue is still to be confirmed but we should be able to do that very soon.

We are also looking at the possibility of a non-competitive festival later in 2021, but there is still a lot of work to be done in organising and scheduling this, so again we will make an announcement as early in the New Year as possible."

BBE staff and trustees remain committed to creating the best possible platform for our young musicians and we look forward to being able to witness them making great music together in 2021Kenny Crookston

Challenging year

He concluded: "BBE staff and trustees remain committed to creating the best possible platform for our young musicians and we look forward to being able to witness them making great music together in 2021.

This has been a tremendously challenging year for all the stakeholders in our Youth Champs and we would like to thank them for their patience and understanding and wish them every success in the year ahead."