Musicport 2020 becomes Musicport 2021

Let's keep going - your generosity has helped us exceed the targets we set, but we are going to leave this page open for a while because we'd really like to try another live stream, and we want to make 2021 as good as it can be! The festival online seemed to go really well (apart from weather issues delaying broadcast from Whitby - we always said the weather couldn't spoil Musicport!!), and we are riding the wave of love we received from you here, on facebook and in other messages.

Quite a number of people have asked how they can donate to help us continue with plans for a superb festival in 2021, so here we are, with a button to click so that if you are in a position to help us further and would like to make a donation, it's easy and safe through this site. For our part, we'll carry on working to make Musicport 2021 something special, one that we'll all be more than ready for when the time comes.

The decision to postpone this year's Musicport festival was, in the end, sad but not hard. We naturally want to keep everyone involved safe - audience, artists and staff, and no one knows when it will be deemed safe to gather in significant numbers again, or when travel restrictions within or to the UK will be removed.

We have no way of knowing when any of us may feel comfortable about gathering in larger numbers again, and the funding which has allowed us to make the event what it has been for the past 20 years is not currently available - Arts Council England has diverted its project funds to an Emergency Response Fund, supporting organisations like Musicport through the gap year that 2020 has become. We are very grateful to them for the grant they gave to ensure that we can continue to plan for a future of bringing music to Whitby.

Our ticketholders have been wonderful, with the vast majority either carrying their tickets forward to 2021 or donating them to our continuation fund.

Thank you to all who donate and to our lovely and loyal audience members - we look forward to seeing you 22-24 October 2021. Keep an eye on the website and Facebook page for further news!