Lancashire wedding venue, Gisburne Park Estate has pivoted its business operations this summer to host the UK’s first ‘socially-distanced’ outdoor festival, creating 100 temporary jobs in the region’s hospitality and events industries.
The Gisburne Park Pop-Up festival – which is sponsored by Moët Chandon, Peroni and HUN wines – will take place between July 11th and August 30th 2020 across the 10-acre Estate and is expected to welcome 24,000 socially-conscious guests from across the UK for an eight week programme of immersive movie nights, live entertainment and big name DJs that include Jonas Blue, Shapeshifters and Sam Divine.
The festival is operating ‘first-of-its kind’ practices to ensure social-distancing is maintained throughout the 10-acre grounds that hold the festival. This includes hexagon pitches each large enough for a social bubble of six and spaced 2.6m apart, one-way systems
and bar-to-pitch service eliminating the need for queues.
Gisburne Park Estate owner, Guy Hindley, developed the concept for the festival after the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown led to the cancellation of weddings in keeping with the Government guidelines. Guy partnered with event and hospitality professionals, Robyn Isherwood
and Joe Worthington to develop a unique eight week-programme of music, entertainment, food, drink and boutique glamping.
The festival is a welcome boost for the region’s hospitality and cultural events industries which have been two of the worst-hit sectors since the start of the lockdown.
Robyn Isherwood, Events Director of Gisburne Park Pop-Up, said: “Having worked in events for a number of years, seeing the impact of COVID-19 on the industry has been truly devastating. With the Gisburne Park Pop-Up festival, we’re excited to be at the forefront of kickstarting the return of outdoor festivals and our ambition
is to deliver a unique, safe experience for people to enjoy in the open air to reclaim their British summer.
“Our guests’ health and safety is our number one priority. We’ve ensured everyone can relax and enjoy the experience, safe in the knowledge that the strictest social distancing and hygiene measures are in place for all customers, staff and entertainers.”
