Bitter disappointment followed the early closure of this year’s Abbeyfield Multicultural Festival following what police described as a ‘suspicious incident’. Green City Action (GCA) later confirmed it was a bomb scare, with more than one warning being received.
It was shaping up to be a superb day but after less than three hours the code words that nobody wanted to hear were passed round the staff and stewards, “Tony Blair is in the park”, signalling a security alert and the park’s immediate evacuation.
Garry Smith of GCA said: “I’m gutted. But to look on the positive side, we had thousands of people here having a great time. The Police have complemented us on our evacuation procedure and we’re really proud of the way people behaved when it happened, everyone left in a really calm way.”
Nothing was found in the park after a police search. But by then police had already announced to the waiting crowds outside:
“The party is over, the festival has finished. It will not be reopened.”