Fairport Convention - which holds its legendary Fairport's Cropredy Convention near Banbury - has received £100k from the Government

The money has been given to Fairport's Cropredy Convention in round two of the grants which aim to help organisations recover and reopen.

Last year's festival was abandoned amid the Covid pandemic and lockdowns causing huge disappointment among fans and a financial headache for organisers.

The band said it was 'delighted' to have been included in the latest round of awards announced by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Cropredy Festival Organiser, Gareth Williams said: "We are extremely grateful for this award. The money from the CRF Round One has already filtered out in the form of deposits to our terrific support companies - without whom there would be no festival - and the Round Two grant will continue to ensure that we are all in place to open the gates once again this August.

“The Arts have really suffered this past year and to have the confidence that we and the businesses that rely on our festival taking place are now in a position to meet the summer ahead is such a relief to all concerned.

"Again, our thanks go not only to Her Majesty's Government and Arts Council England for awarding this grant but also to the loyal Fairporters who kept hold of their 2020 tickets and those who are continuing to purchase tickets for 2021. Your support has been amazing. We’re all looking forward to an incredible August weekend. We’ve all earned it.”

Providing Covid remains under control Fairport hopes its festival will be going ahead from August 12 - 14. "There is every reason to hope that we can all look forward to meeting in the field in August," said Mr Williams.

"Safety is our first consideration (in fact, it was the main reason we postponed back in April 2020), so there may be some mitigation measures in place and we will be liaising with the responsible authorities throughout the summer in the build-up to the festival to make Cropredy as safe as possible for our festival-goers, staff, artists and local residents.

"As far as planning the festival goes, we haven't taken our foot off the pedal in our preparations for August and we remain committed to presenting a wonderful weekend of music. The fabulous line-up remains unchanged and 2020 tickets will be valid for 2021.

"This has been a unique twelve months by any standards. Our hearts go out to our friends in the extended Fairport family who have lost someone close and we shall remember those who are no longer with us when we meet again in that very special field.

Tickets for Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2021 are on sale here - www.fairportconvention.com/tickets