Spalding Flower Parade 2027 cancelled

The annual Spalding Flower Parade will not go ahead in 2027, organisers have said.

Its committee made the decision at a meeting earlier in the week, citing ill health in the team.

This year's event was also cancelled, with organisers again stating ill health as the reason as well as financial pressures.

Committee spokesperson Lee Dickins said he hoped the event could go ahead in 2028.

He said: "Judging by the people that are on the committee at the moment and their dedication, I think something will happen.

"I don't know how grand and how big a scale it will be. It's up to the community of Spalding to get together and get behind it, really."

Dickins said he had suggested that the event should be held every two years instead, to make planning it "a bit more viable."

He also emphasised the "small" size of the committee, and appealed for more volunteers to join the team.

"There's a lot of stress involved with it. At the end of the day, everyone volunteers. Most of us have got full-time jobs... so it's difficult."

Sarah Fletcher, manager of Spalding BID, which seeks to improve and promote the town centre, said the announcement was "really sad news".

"We know how much work goes into these sorts of events. It's a huge event for the town," she added.

"So for us not to have it this next year coming, when people were hoping, looking and talking about it coming back in 2027, is a real sad moment. But we do respect the decision that has been made, and why."

The annual parade began in 1959 to celebrate the area's flower- growing tradition, but ended in 2013. It was revived in 2023.

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