Hull Fair 2021: Crowds attend one of Europe's largest fun fairs

9 October 2021

News image — Hull Fair is one of the largest travelling fairs in Europe

PA Media Aerial view of Hull Fair — Hull Fair is one of the largest travelling fairs in Europe

Crowds have attended the opening night of one of Europe's largest travelling funfairs after a year-long hiatus due to Covid-19.

Hull Fair, which dates back more than 700 years, opened in the city on Friday night after it was cancelled last year.

It was last held in 2019 when 800,000 people attended the eight-day extravaganza on the Walton Street site.

Health bosses said safety measures were in place over fears this year's fair could be a "superspreader" event.

Pritti Mistry Hull Fair — Crowds turned out for the opening night on Friday

PA Media People going on rides at Hull Fair — The eight-day extravaganza features over 250 rides and an array of attractions

Hull City Council's Director of Public Health Julia Weldon said: "We're asking all visitors to take responsibility by wearing a mask, using a hand sanitiser and not coming to the fair if they are at all symptomatic.

"We are trying to get back to normal and we are holding events, we try to hold them as safe as possible and having the mitigations in place it's really, really important to reduce the risk [of infection]."

Public health director Andy Kingdom of East Riding District Council said he was "really worried" by the risk of people "squashed together" passing on the virus.

Pritti Mistry People walking past fairground rides — Visitors to the fair have been asked to wear masks and use hand sanitisers regularly

Ms Weldon said other large-scale outdoor events in Yorkshire, including the Inner City Sesh music festival in Hull's Queen's Gardens, had not led to outbreaks.

"We've got evidence of a number of events that happened in Yorkshire recently with lots of people at the event and there wasn't a spike in infection.

"So I think using terms like superspreader is not helpful at all.

"What we're trying to do here, within the best interest of our local communities, is provide as safe a fair as possible, taking into account the Covid impact and the social and economic well-being of our city."