ORGANISERS of Countryfile Live have said they were unaware of a traditional event that was cancelled due to a clash with the Blenheim Palace show.

Last week the Oxford Mail reported on the cancellation of Woodstock’s centuries-old mock mayor election amid concerns that commercial events like Countryfile Live were damaging traditions in the surrounding community.

Tim Etchells, the managing director of Single Market Events, the company that organises the show for the BBC, said he was unaware of the event and would have been happy to offer support.

He said: “The first time I heard about it was when I read it in the paper – I was really surprised. Had we known, we would have done everything we could have to work with them.

“The last thing we want to do is affect traditions or have that event cancelled. We would have worked with them and maybe even integrated it into the show.

“Now that I’ve read about it it seems like a really fun event and I’m sure that it could have linked in. We want Woodstock to be a part of this event.”

Woodstock’s tongue-in-cheek mock mayor election was due to be held on Saturday, but organisers decided to skip this year and return in July next year to avoid overlap with Countryfile Live.

The mock mayor election was created because Old Woodstock residents were upset the town hall was built in the new part of the town in 1786.

Traditionally the day culminates in a procession from Old Woodstock to the town hall so that the mock mayor can turn his back on Woodstock’s actual mayor.

The procession then returns to the Black Prince pub at 6pm, where the mock mayor is duly dunked in the River Glyme and a pig roast and live music begins. The event also raises money for good causes every year, and last year funds for multiple sclerosis and prostate cancer charities.