A joint update to students and staff from Ian Dunn, Chief Operating Officer, and Emily Harrison, Students’ Union President
Dear Students and Colleagues,
It is with great disappointment that the University and the Students’ Union are announcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s annual Christmas Lights event on Highfield Campus.
The grassed area where up to 2,000 people gather for our Christmas lights switch on has been assessed as unsafe for the large crowd at the event to walk on, especially in the dark. The ground on this site has suffered extensive damage following the high rainfall over the last month, including over the weekend, combined with recent, essential work to install large drainage pipes in this area.
We’ve explored a number of remedial options but unfortunately it has not been possible to address these safety concerns or to arrange a relocation of the event at short notice.
We understand that this is a highlight in the calendar for many of you and we apologise to all those who were looking forward to attending. However, the safety of all our students and staff must come first in our decision making.
Our thanks go to all the SUSU and University staff who have worked on the preparations. While the event will not take place, the Christmas lights will still be turned on during the course of this week.
Kind regards,
Ian Dunn, Chief Operating Officer
Emily Harrison, Students’ Union President
