Stradbally based Laois County Councillor says Electric Picnic should not go ahead

Stradbally based Laois County Councillor Paschal McEvoy says that he believes the Electric Picnic should not go ahead this year.

The Fianna Fail Councillor believes it is too soon to bring 70,000 people into the town as Covid-19 restrictions are only being eased now.

While he does believe that there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel through vaccination, he does not believe it will be safe in September to stage the three day extravaganza.

He said: “I do not believe that the Electric Picnic should go ahead this year.

“I honestly think that we need another year to hopefully have brought COVID-19 to a place where we can be comfortable and safe.

“To have seventy thousand festival goers converge on our town this September is not safe and in my opinion, it is too much too soon.

“We have to think of the older people in our community and I know from talking to many of them that they are not in favour of this.

“Like all communities, Stradbally had it tough over the last 15 months with this pandemic.

“There is certainly light at the end of the tunnel and great hope that we can emerge from this through vaccination.

“But I think it would be the safest option to postpone the event to 2021.”

Mr McEvoy’s comments come after TD Sean Fleming revealed that organisers had informed him that a decision on the festival would be made by the end of June. 

This year’s Electric Picnic is scheduled to run from September 4-6 – a little more than three months away.

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