Scarborough Fair festival director steps down ahead of plan to revive 18th Century event

David Edmunds was appointed as The Scarborough Fair’s festival director when Scarborough Council announced in January that the event, last held in the 18th Century, would return.

However, as Mr Edmunds was set to take on his new role today, the authority said it was “disappointed” to announce he has stepped down due to “personal reasons”.

“While David’s decision is an unexpected setback, we are already looking into what our next steps should be to secure the necessary leadership the festival needs,” said Janet Deacon, Scarborough Council’s head of tourism and culture.

“Meanwhile the team working on the development of the fair’s ambitious and innovative creative programme continues uninterrupted.”

In a statement on social media, Mr Edmunds said “now is simply not the right time to dive straight back into a large-scale multi-year project” after four years as festivals director for The Arches Festival in Worcester.

The fair will be reimagined as a year-round programme of art, music, heritage, sport and food festivals – instead of the traditional commercial event.

It is funded by £1.2m from the Government’s Towns Fund – which awarded Scarborough and Whitby £37m in 2021 – and is set to run from March this year until 2026.

Scarborough Council said the festival “will celebrate all that our beautiful region has to offer”.

When Mr Edmunds was first revealed as festival director, Paul Robinson, Chairman of the Scarborough Fair Advisory Group and the Scarborough Fair founder, said the fair’s return was a “long-held” aspiration.

“The Scarborough Fair is the ‘big moment’ that we have long been waiting for,” he added.

Established under Royal Charter in 1253, the original Scarborough Fair attracted merchants from across the world to sell goods to hundreds of visitors each August and September.

However, a changing economy and increased competition left the fair financially unviable, with the last event held in 1788.

Scarborough Fair is perhaps best known as an old English ballad, which was rerecorded by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966.