HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA 2020 CANCELLED

Despite the entire rowing world saying a prayer and crossing their fingers, the last bastion of summer racing has fallen.

This afternoon the Henley Royal Regatta Committee of Management have announced that the 2020 Regatta will be cancelled. It will not be rescheduled for a future date.

The below was sent to members this afternoon:

Dear Member,

This is an extremely challenging time in history, in particular for any families who have already suffered from the COVID-19 Coronavirus or its impact on our society.  I know that many of our Members are dedicated health workers, and I would first  like to express how grateful every one of us at Henley Royal Regatta is for their heroic work in these difficult times. 

With much sadness and regret, the Committee of Management has unanimously agreed that the 2020 Regatta must be cancelled.  We have also ruled out the possibility of staging the Regatta at a future stage this year.  

It has weighed heavily on us all that in its 181 year history, the Regatta has only previously been cancelled during the World Wars.  Also that so many athletes and coaches have worked so hard for an entire season in order to give themselves the chance to race at Henley.  Nonetheless, we are agreed that this is the right decision for our staff, members, volunteers, competitors, spectators, and all those involved in the staging and running of the Regatta, including, of course, all Stewards.

We have taken this decision after much deliberation, and after as thorough an evaluation that we and the Regatta staff have been able to conduct since the COVID-19 outbreak started to have an impact on normal life.  In so doing we have considered a number of factors, including the following:

• Evolving Government guidance, in particular travel restrictions, social distancing requirements, and the withdrawal of emergency services support for mass gatherings;
• Modelling evidence as to the likely development of COVID-19 in the UK, notably the research conducted by Dr. Neil Ferguson and his team at Imperial College being relied upon by Government scientists;
• Our operational options and their implications, both practical and financial.

The following priorities have been our highest concern:

• The health and safety of our staff, contractors, suppliers, members, competitors, coaches, volunteers and guests; and
• Wider public health and our role in society’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved significantly by 1 July.  However, current evidence suggests that this should not be our expectation.  Either way, given Government social distancing measures and travel restrictions currently in force, it will not be possible to install the course and build the site, which ordinarily would commence this week. 

In this context, we have decided to cancel now, allowing us to engage in discussions with suppliers, contractors and other partners about the contractual implications, so as to minimise any further cost to the Regatta this year.  We have also taken very seriously our responsibility to the sport of rowing and to society more broadly, to provide clarity and certainty that we will not be staging the Regatta this year.

This will not be an easy financial year for many people.  The Regatta, its staff, suppliers and contractors will be no exception to that.  Given the timing of the emergence of COVID-19, and contractual and financial commitments already made for this year, the Regatta now faces a significant financial loss in 2020.  The Committee and Secretary will work diligently in the coming weeks to ensure that the Regatta and our suppliers and contractors can emerge safe and sound on the other side of this tumultuous period.  We will endeavour to minimise the loss as much as we reasonably can. 

The Regatta has insurance against a range of risks, but not cancellation of the event.  This is because the cost of cover has always been disproportionately high relative to the evidence of history, which until this year has never seen the cancellation of the Regatta during peacetime. 

As a result of the magnitude of the expected loss for this year, which we will be able to quantify accurately only after concluding a wide range of discussions, as well as the continued unprecedented level of uncertainty, regrettably we are not in a position to provide refunds of the Annual Subscription monies already paid for 2020 by our Members.  

We are therefore considering a range of options in respect of the 2021 event to ensure that Members feel valued by the Regatta.  However, our immediate priority must be working through our existing contracts and agreements with suppliers.  I would like to thank each and every one of our Members for your support going forward, especially through this difficult time. At this stage please keep your 2020 badge pack safe and secure and we will contact you soon with more updates on our plans for the 2021 Regatta.

We appreciate that the cancellation of the Regatta will come as a huge disappointment to many involved in the sport of rowing, especially those whose seasons have been planned around Henley, and particularly given that event after event has been cancelled already this year.  However, no matter how passionate we are about our sport, we are also mindful that there are now more significant issues at stake than the staging of sporting events.  In this context, it is our hope that all concerned will understand our decision, and the rationale.  

We all know and cherish the fact that our sport is more than a community; it is a family.  On behalf of the Committee of Management, I ask that in these unsettled and troubling times, we rally together to help protect and preserve the particular family that is Henley Royal Regatta.  In the hope that by 2021 we are safely able, once again, to stage the world’s best Regatta, over six wonderful days of competition for 26 trophies.  

The grass in the Enclosures will be as green as ever, the racing as excellent as ever and with your support, the event as strong as ever.

In the meantime, I hope that you and your families stay safe and well.

Best wishes,

Steve

About The Author

Tom Morgan

Tom is the Founder of JRN. He has been creating content around rowing for over a decade and has been fortunate enough to witness some of the greatest athletes and races to ever grace our sport.

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