THE committee behind Dalgety Bay and Hillend Gala has vowed to come back "bigger and better" after announcing this year's event has been cancelled.

The popular event, which brought together around 2,000 people last year, and the Relay for Life event for Cancer Research UK, had been due to take place on Saturday, June 13.

But, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers of both have confirmed that they have been called off for this year, and are focusing their energy on returning in 2021.

On its Facebook page, the committee of the gala said: "After a lot of consideration, the gala team has taken the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Gala/Relay For Life event, which was scheduled for Saturday 13th June 2020.

"While the timings are unknown, every indication is that the Government restrictions will last until at least early summer, therefore we don’t feel it would be feasible to continue with our planning.

"We are extremely grateful for the support and understanding everyone is showing, from our Relay for Life partners to suppliers, who are putting everything on hold for us.

"As a team, we are very disappointed to be in this position as we know how much the local children look forward to the gala every year. However, this is exceptional circumstances and the health and wellbeing of the community is our first priority.

"Our plan now is to make sure we come back bigger and better for gala 2021, which will take place on Saturday, 12th June."

Relay for Life, held at Dalgety Bay Sports Centre, is a poignant event that brings together teams of fundraisers to take turns in walking around a track over 24 hours to celebrate and remember those who have been affected by cancer.

Its organisers commented: "After a lot of consideration, the Relay for Life committee has taken the decision with our friends on the gala committee to postpone the Relay for Life/Gala event in Dalgety Bay for 2020.

"Unfortunately, the uncertainty around how long Government restrictions will last means we feel it is no longer feasible to continue with the planning of the event.

"We have so many wonderful supporters who provide so many items for us to put on our event year on year. Once we are back into some more certain times, we ask you to support all these businesses to help them following what is a very difficult period ahead.

"As a committee, we will be working in the background to create an event to get us together and provide a fundraising opportunity for later in the year. This will bring us together in 2020 and help us build towards a bigger event in 2021.

"We are very disappointed but we have to put the participants, community and our supporters' health first."