Green Man festival cancels burning ceremony over fire risk

A long-standing Green Man festival tradition has been cancelled due to the risk of fire in drought conditions.

The festival, which starts on 20 August near Crickhowell, Powys, said it will not burn the large wooden Green Man figure which is set alight each year during the event's closing ceremony.

Organisers said safety measures had been put in place including banning disposable BBQs and campfires after an emergency phone alert warning of wildfires was issued on Friday.

Wildfires continue to burn across Wales, with about 200 members of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, alongside Royal Engineers, Royal Logistics Corps and Army helicopters all sent to help support fire crews.

The festival said the change to the closing ceremony was a difficult decision to make but the right one due to the extreme weather conditions.

The tradition of festival-goers placing wishes on the Green Man figure will still be available but sensitively handled, it added.

"We are planning something very special that will evoke excitement, connection and hope for the future, which the ceremony leaves us with every year," a spokesperson said.

On Monday, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it continued to manage a large wildfire near Morfa Bychan Beach in Pendine, Carmarthenshire.

Meanwhile, it added a large wildfire at Rhandirmwyn near Llandovery, was now no longer considered a major incident, with residents who were previously evacuated as a precaution now able to return to their homes.

In south Wales crews continue to attend fires in Blaenavon, Cwm, Dowlais, Wattsville, Treherbert and Rudry Common in Caerphilly county.

South Wales Fire and Rescue service said teams from the British Army remained deployed on the ground, creating fire breaks, clearing vegetation and helping with logistics.

To thank Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Green Man has donated 80 passes for firefighters to attend the festival.

The festival is inspired by a mythical figure called the Green Man, according to the organisers.

He is presented as a symbol of rebirth and the cycle of growth that happens every spring.

A new Green Man sculpture is created each year, built with natural materials and is then burned as part of the festival's closing ceremony.

Attendees write down wishes and hopes which are placed inside the sculpture before it is set on fire.

First held in 2003, the festival is an independent music, science, and arts event which takes place at the Glanusk estate every year.

Kim Searle, 38, from Huddersfield will be going to the festival for her 10th year and said she felt it was a wise decision to not allow fire on tinder dry ground.

She described the burning of the Green Man as a great part of the festival but said it was "only a small part of the magic".

"There's no point of having a big symbolic burning effigy if it causes more problems," she said.

With the new restrictions, Searle said she was worried people will ignore them which could lead to potential fires, but believes festival-goers will be respectful.