The ninth Greater Manchester Fringe Festival has been postponed from July 2020 to October and November, though some acts may elect to transfer to next year's tenth anniversary event.
More than 200 acts were registered for this year's festival, which was due to take place from 1 to 31 July at venues throughout Greater Manchester, more than 70 of which were already on sale. All tickets sold are being refunded.
GMFringe director Zena Barrie told the acts, "sorry for the delay in making a decision about this. There's been a lot of people and places and things to consider.
"The Fringe will NOT be taking place in July. Even if we are out of lockdown by then, I don't think people will be quite ready for sitting in busy sweaty rooms, so now you have some options to consider."
Those options are to either transfer to the Greater Manchester Fringe Redux in October and November or to next year's Fringe from 1 to 31 July 2021—or to request a refund. Both existing and new shows can register for either event at the GM Fringe or Eventotron web sites.