Coronavirus: Deadline set for Kirkcaldy's Links Market decision

The Showmen’s Guild have held an emergency committee meeting today, and it has chosen to defer the decision until April 3.

The Kirkcaldy event is scheduled to open on Wednesday, April 15, and finish on Monday April 20, which is around the time the virus is expected to peak.

It would draw around 100,000 visitors to Kirkcaldy, with people flocking from across Scotland to the event.

Speculation has been mounting over the last few weeks that the Showmen’s Guild would pull the plug to protect public safety, but the organisation has been waiting on clear advice from the UK and Scottish Governments.

Given the timeframe of the event, it could occur if current precautions help stop the spread of the virus.

However, today Alex James Colquhoun, chairman of the guild’s Scottish division, said that the discussion had taken place.

He said: “I called an emergency committee meeting to discuss the situation today. What the committee have decided, is to defer making a final decision until April 3.

“We’re trying to give it as much chance as possible to try and put the fair out.

“It’s obviously very very difficult for us, we’re trying to go on the advice that is current, but it just keeps changing, so we’re trying to do everything we can.”

The origins for the Links Market can be traced back more than 700 years, and it is thought that it has never been cancelled in living memory.

In Pictures: Links Market 2019