Birmingham St Patrick’s Day parade postponed due to coronavirus

Birmingham’s St Patrick’s Day parade and festival has been postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The team behind the major celebration of Irish culture and heritage said they promise to deliver “a world-class festival experience that Birmingham and the UK expect and deserve” later in the year.

The future of the parade was recently secured thanks to a number of commitments from new festival supporters Chasetown Civil Engineers and Court Collaboration, who were announced as joint partners earlier in the year.

Festival chair Peter Connolly said: “We are devastated to share this news with you, however, we are committed to providing our city with a belated St Patrick’s celebration that we can all be proud of later in the year.

“We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation and look forward to coming back with announcements very soon.”

The event, launched in 1952, attracts more than 100,000 visitors worldwide and is claimed to be the third largest St Patrick’s Parade in the world.

Meanwhile, Coventry Half Marathon has also been postponed.

Organisers said current circumstances would prevent bringing the “best atmosphere and event to runners and spectators” on 5 April.

It said it took the decision after government advice to be mindful how events could be a burden on public services.

Runners who had a place will have it automatically moved to a new date, which is to be confirmed in the coming weeks.