After meeting with the Head of Counter Terrorism at the Foreign Office about the safety situation in some of the regions the Africa Rally would be travelling through we have decided to cancel the event in it's original format. We have been informed that parts of Mauritania and Algeria have a rapidly escalating threat level and as a well publicised event we pose a major potential target for militant groups. The F.C.O. changed their travel advice yesterday (the 9th of December) to reflect the new situation and said very clearly to us that it would be very unwise to hold the event through these regions. We discussed other options such as military escorts, all of which the F.C.O. felt would be insufficient for the level of threat we would face. Their Minister is going to be releasing a statement this morning about the threat level and the Rally.
We know this is a huge disappointment for the teams who have put months of work into preparing for the adventure and raising money for the charities, however given the circumstances we feel that changing the event is essential at this point.
So we have returned to the drawing board to work on alternative plans. We will still be holding the launch at Dunsfold park on Sunday the 13th of December and heading to a new finish line.
We know this is a huge disappointment for the teams who have put months of work into preparing for the adventure and raising money for the charities, however given the circumstances we feel that changing the event is essential at this point.
So we have returned to the drawing board to work on alternative plans. We will still be holding the launch at Dunsfold park on Sunday the 13th of December and heading to a new finish line.