Carlisle Fireshow will not go ahead this year, the city council has confirmed.
The popular event at Bitts Park, which attracts 35,000 people to the town, has fallen victim to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Councillor Stephen Higgs, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and leisure, said: “We need to balance the importance of hosting events and attracting visitors to the city with the safety of the event spectators.
“We take great pride in our events and we cannot allow any event to go ahead which might increase the COVID risk to the public.
“The fireshow takes several months to plan and we’ve taken the decision that the event will not go ahead at this stage, so that we do not incur any unnecessary costs.
“In addition, we do not want to put extra pressure on local emergency services by hosting a one-off event that would require substantial police and NHS support.”
However, the city council said it has put in place an events programme for the autumn, which includes a three-day City of Lights event in October.
Mr Higgs added: “As this is ticketed, we can regulate the number of visitors over allocated time slots.
“We can also ensure that social distancing can be accommodated, as well other COVID-secure measures such as contact tracing.”
He added the council was working with venues including the cathedral, castle and Tullie House to host events.
