The Cliftonville Games and Cliftonville Outdoor Cinema have been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Around 3000 people usually attend Cliftonville Games at the Oval Bandstand, which was due to take place on 29th August.

GRASS Cliftonville Organisers said the ongoing pandemic meant that calling off the event was “the only safe option”.

It is the first time the Cliftonville Games will not take place in 17 years.

Simon Bell, the GRASS Cliftonville chairperson, said the decision followed “much discussion about health and safety risks in the run-up to the cutoff date for event applications to TDC, who require 14 weeks notice before the date of the event”.

“This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the way in which it has unfolded, means that this is the only safe option,” he said.

Sadly, the popular Cliftonville Outdoor Cinema run by GRASS has also been cancelled for 2020.

The GRASS committee are planning an alternative Cliftonville event at Halloween, however they are  “still at the early stage of planning”, with more details to be released “soon”.