The co-founder of a music charity has vowed their return to live performing will be “emotional and memorable” after making the “heartbreaking decision” not to take part in an event in Cassiobury Park at the end of this month due to Covid-19 concerns.

‘An Evening with Electric Umbrella’ was due to take place as part of Watford Palace Theatre’s Stage in the Park series on Saturday, July 31, its first live performance in more than 18 months.

Although most restrictions have been lifted in England, the charity is mindful that many of its community, although fully vaccinated, are at risk of serious illness in the event they were to contract Covid-19.

Electric Umbrella’s plans for the evening included members physically distancing on stage, but given the transmissibility of the delta variant, the organisation felt that it was an unnecessary risk at this time.

The charity’s co-founder and chief executive Mel Boda said: “This is a heartbreaking decision to have to make, and we are sorry that people across our Electric Umbrella community, whether performing or supporting, will be very disappointed.

“We share that sadness and frustration that we’re not able to go ahead with Stage in the Park, after such a long wait to return to perform in public.

“Ultimately, and after consulting with our stakeholder engagement group, we felt we could not proceed with the event, if we were going to risk one of our community becoming ill.

“We will, however, return. We will perform again on stage, and when it happens it’s going to be both emotional and memorable.”

Electric Umbrella works to make the world a better place for learning disabled people, using the power of music and friendship to put their community at centre stage.

The promoters at Watford Palace Theatre will contact ticket holders in the next couple of days, and ask for patience whilst they put plans in place.