Ullapool Book Festival prepares for live 2021 event – with virtual fallback if coronavirus hampers plans
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AN eagerly anticipated Wester Ross book festival has pledged the show willgo on this years no matter what.
In this time of uncertainty, it is not surprising that many literary festivals have opted to either go online or opt out of 2021 altogether – but Ullapool Book Festival says it has always done things differently and this year is no exception.
Organisers of the longest-running literary festival in the Highlands have gone to great lengths to achieve their goal of a live festival in Ullapool this May.
Should that again prove impossible, the fallback position is to have all the programmed sessions online – not over the single weekend, but an event a week for several weeks.
The only other option was to postpone the live festival until later in the year. organisers said. But that would probably have meant colliding with other festivals which would be neither courteous nor practical.
Festival chair, Joan Michael, said: “Everyone’s getting a bit tired of the virtual world. Ullapool Book Festival is about more than bringing great writers from Scotland and other countries. It’s about audiences being here, old friends and new walking and talking round our beautiful village, along the banks of Loch Broom. Being part of a community for the weekend. So we remain optimistic about having a real festival.
"We have spent a lot of time and effort consulting and putting together detailed plans of how to make a live festival safe for everyone. But if we do have to go online we can guarantee a wee Ullapool twist!”
Full details of UBF’s Covid-19 protocols and how the festival will operate can be found on the festival website: www.ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk where you can also find the 2021 programme.
A final decision will likely be taken in early April.
Ms Michael said: "Either way, it will be a wonderful festival."
The event is due to run from May 7-9.
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