Scarefest 2024, one of the Isle of Man's most-anticipated Hop-tu-Naa celebrations, has been officially cancelled.

In a statement released by organisers on Thursday evening, the event, which was scheduled to be held at Milntown, was cancelled due to rising costs and security concerns.

Scarefest production manager Ricky Rooney expressed the team's regret in making the difficult decision.

‘We regret to inform you that this years Scarefest 2024 at Milntown has been cancelled.

‘We believe it is essential to communicate this decision early, allowing those who have purchased or were considering tickets to explore other exciting Halloween and Hop Tu Naa events around the island before their bookings fill up.’

Organisers confirmed that refunds for ticket purchases will be processed shortly, but acknowledged that last year’s event faced significant challenges, including incidents of anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

Youths also caused damage to Milntown and surrounding properties while attempting to gain unauthorised entry to the event.

Mr Rooney added: ‘In response, our plans for this year’s event included extensive security enhancements and adjustments to our age policy.

‘Unfortunately, these necessary modifications have resulted in significantly increased costs and will most certainly have limited our target audience.’

Despite efforts to address these issues, financial concerns became the determining factor in the decision to cancel.

Organisers faced upcoming deposit commitments for the event but found that the financial outlook did not support moving forward.

He continued: ‘As we approach the deadline for various deposit commitments related to the event, our management and accounting team has unanimously determined that the financial outlook does not support moving forward with Scarefest this year.

‘We sincerely apologise to all who were looking forward to this event and thank all of you who have supported us along the way but it simply isn't enough to cover the huge costs of putting the event on.

‘Scarefest is one of the yearly highlights for our extensive team, and this decision was not made lightly.

‘We appreciate your understanding and support as we navigate these challenges.’