Crystal Palace event fails to shine

ON Good Friday and Easter Saturday, Sefton residents and Tourist where looking forward to what was going to be a dazzling free event entitled:- 'Crystal Palace.' All looked good on the:- 3 April 2026, with tests the night before going amazingly well, but the wind started to pick up as the clock ticked down to the performance, as Storm Dave approached the North West of England. The day before a Yellow Wind Warning was issued for high winds to hit at 11 pm on Good Friday, but organisers hoped the event would be able to be able to be held. On Friday night as a few thousand people turned out to see what the event only got to see a small part of the stage show, giving a glimpse of what it could have been. The following night forecaster had upgraded warnings to an:- Amber Wind Warning, and high winds battered the area. As a result the event was fully cancelled.

On Friday night, a statement issued by Sefton Council, said:- "Due to gusting winds speeds in excess of safe operating standards at crane height, we are unable to safely prepare the acrobatic Chandelier as part of tonight’s Cristal Palace showcase. This is an integral part of the experience promised to our audience and weather conditions are now worse than previously forecast. As a result, we have had no choice but to cancel this evening’s show. The safety of our performers and guests will always be our utmost priority. However 20 local young performers from three dance schools across Southport who have spent weeks getting ready for tonight’s show will still perform and we are incredibly grateful for their amazing efforts. 14 volunteer dancers and actors who have been working to produce a flashmob finale to this evening will also still have the opportunity to share their talents. They are Central Dance & Talent, Wrights Performing Arts and the Dance Place. Extensive event safety briefings have taken place throughout today. Changing weather conditions were closely monitored as part of those briefings and, despite attempts to delay show start times to mitigate the weather conditions, a decision has been taken in line with strict health and safety protocols. We understand this is very disappointing and we would like to thank everyone who turned out this evening. We wish you a safe journey home."

Saturday was cancelled without any activities taking place. These are a few photos we took of the setup on Thursday and a few pictures we took of the section of the show that did run on Good Friday. More photos from this event can be seen on the following page within this edition...

What are your thoughts about this event Email our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter. Please do let us know as we love to hear your views....