After Dark fireworks show at Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield cancelled for good

The annual festival held on Bonfire Night, November 5, for more than 20 years had attracted up to 20,000 people.

But Yellow Bus Events, which runs the spectacle, at which the likes of Girls Aloud have performed, has confirmed it will not be making a comeback after being cancelled last year due to Covid.

Scott Barton, the firm’s managing director, said: “We have taken the decision to stop staging the event for a number of reasons including wetter autumns (creating ground condition issues), rising costs and of course Covid uncertainty this year.

“We are really pleased that we managed to stage the event successfully for the last 24 years but now is the right time to stop.

“As a small business we do now work in Sheffield and around the UK and will be focusing on the other events that we stage ranging from pop up beaches, festivals of street entertainment and town centre animation.”

The popular Bonfire Night event at Manor Fields Park has also been cancelled this year, though organisers say that will be back and some smaller events are planned around Bonfire Night and Halloween.

Organisers said this year’s event could not go ahead as the uncertainty over Covid had disrupted planning.

In a statement, they added: “We understand people are disappointed. We - staff from various organisations and volunteers - are too but we've worked as hard as we can to ensure we've kept some form of activities up throughout the pandemic. Its not the end of the bonfire, we're just having to think differently this year.”

Sheffield Council said the only large scale fireworks event taking place across the city this year would be Illuminate the Gardens at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

That event, billed as a magical night out for the whole family, will take place on Friday 5th, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th November, with tickets – priced £15 for adults and £10 for children – still available.

As well as the fireworks, visitors can enjoy street food and drinks, vintage fairground rides, free children’s activities and a ‘mesmerising’ fire performance. There will also be a special ‘low bangs’ fireworks display in the early evening for younger children.