The Liverpool International Horse Show, scheduled for December 31 until January 3, was cancelled for the second consecutive year.

"With the ever-changing COVID-19 environment and with the recent announcements made by the Government and The Liverpool Health Protection Board [which oversees the city’s response to the pandemic], as event organisers the risk associated with responsibly staging an indoor event of this kind after Christmas, with respect to members of the public, and the knock on implication of this risk to our loyal partners, suppliers, retailers, riders and their guests, is just too high at this time," organisers of the event in Liverpool said.

However, the show director of the event in the British capital, Simon Brooks-Ward, told Horse & Hound magazine that plans remain in place to stage the London International Horse Show later this year.

"We were very sorry to hear that Liverpool International Horse Show has taken the decision to cancel," Brooks-Ward said.

"However, we want to confirm to the London International Horse Show’s visitors, competitors, owners, sponsors and trade stand customers that the show is 100 per cent on track to go ahead.

"We have been working very closely with our new venue at ExCeL London to ensure that we deliver a truly excellent and safe show this year."

The London International Horse Show was previously known as Olympia, and had been held at the venue in West London since 1972.

Last year's event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

This year's show will be held at the ExCeL London exhibition centre in the East of the city, with Olympia undergoing redevelopment.

The London International Horse Show is due to include legs of the International Equestrian Federation World Cup in jumping, dressage and driving.

While restrictions have differed across the four countries of the United Kingdom during the pandemic, England became one of the first European nations to lift virtually all COVID-19 restrictions in July.

The UK has recorded more than nine million cases and 140,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, and the Government's response has faced criticism throughout, with a recent report by Members of Parliament branding the initial decisions taken prior to a lockdown on March 23 2020 as "one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced."

Daily infections remain high compared to the rest of Europe, although they have fallen in the last week having topped 50,000 earlier in October.

The Government has resisted calls from some scientists to reimpose some restrictions.