They think it's all over...it is now.

In another blow for Weymouth, the town council said it is "very disappointed" to announce the cancellation of it's popular Beach Sports Festival.

For the safety and wellbeing of the public, event organisers and competitors, the festival will not be taking place this year, the council said.

However a number of virtual sports events are planned.

The festival has in previous years featured a mix of sporting events and activities including rugby, football, school sports, BeachFit, Swim The Bay and the Beach Volleyball Classic, all of which were based at the temporary sports arena on Weymouth Beach.

Mayor of Weymouth Cllr Graham Winter said: “Following consultation with event organisers, it is with great regret that we have to make the decision to cancel the summer Beach Sports Festival.

"The support for sports on the beach is always brilliant, shared and enjoyed by visitors and the local community. We will work extra hard to ensure that the sports festival returns to Weymouth bigger and better and look forward to welcoming back competitors and spectators.”

The festival was due to be held from July 15-26.

During this time, with the support of sports festival event organisers, Weymouth Town Council instead will be coordinating a number of virtual sports events. Further information on this will be released closer to the time.

Gina Hartley, Director of BeachFit Weymouth, said: “It is with great disappointment that we have to cancel the BeachFit Festival this July. The event has grown from strength to strength over the last few years and bookings for this year were the best yet. We are exploring the possibility of rescheduling the event in September, we will monitor the coronavirus restrictions and announce a decision closer to the time. Head over to our Facebook page ‘BeachFit Weymouth’ for all our updates.”

Alan Rose, Director of Just Racing (UK) and organiser of Swim The Bay, said: “We are very disappointed to have to cancel this year’s Swim The Bay event but we are confident that it is the right thing to do at this time. Last year’s inaugural event was a great success and we look forward to building on this popularity and making the annual Swim The Bay event in Weymouth Bay a wonderful iconic sporting spectacle for the town.”