Spraoi have announced that this year's festival will take place in Waterford in September.
The International Street Arts Festival had to cancel its traditional August Bank Holiday Weekend event due to Covid-19 restrictions.
It's the first time in 26 years that the Spraoi festival won't take place here in August
However Spraoi Time 2020 will present an array of performances and installations to give audience a new experience of Waterford at night.
Organisers have announced an adapted model titled Spraoi Time 2020 which will be presented between September 4 and 13. The event will be presented each evening between 8.30 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. and is designed to maximise social-spacing of those attending.
Spraoi’s big crowd-pullers such as the annual parade and fireworks are postponed until 2021 as they proved impossible to deliver within social-spacing guidelines. However Spraoi Time 2020 will present an array of performances and installations to animate the city for audiences at night.
“Our idea is for people to have a new experience of their city at night. By presenting only in the evenings we won’t be competing for street-space with the retail sector by day, which will facilitate greater audience-spacing and people can attend over ten days rather than the usual three,” said Spraoi Artistic Director Mike Leahy.
Programming for Spraoi Time 2020 will include artistic installations at John Robert’s Square, George’s Street and Arundel Square. Special short-format performances are being commissioned from artists nationally and these will be presented as pop-ups in various novel city-centre locations. The overall experiences will incorporate elements of sculpture, spectacle, circus, music, light and sound.
“COVID-19 means our artists are operating with one hand tied behind their backs,” said Spraoi Director T.V. Honan. “This is not going to be a normal Spraoi. But we think it’s important we make every effort to boost the morale of audiences, artists and hard-hit Waterford businesses. This year’s Spraoi won’t be its usual celebratory-self but we think Spraoi Time 2020 will lift people’s spirits, hearts and minds.”
