THIS year's Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival may have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the show must go on.

While there may not be tens of thousands of revellers hitting the streets of Falmouth this June as usual, the festival's spirit is set to be broadcast to millions tomorrow (Thursday) morning instead.

In true shanty spirit, Falmouth’s International Sea Shanty Festival is taking to BBC Radio 4 live tomorrow at 8.55am with a performance of the well-known hit 'Cornwall My Home'.

Originally sung by Harry Glasson, it is a song that strikes a chord with many shanty fans, not only in Cornwall but all over the UK.

The performance came about following the recent cancellation of Falmouth’s International Sea Shanty Festival for 2020 and will form part of Radio 4’s 'The Show Must Go On' series, where the radio station features performances or events that have had to be cancelled due to coronavirus measures.

So far BBC Radio 4 has featured moments from West End shows, classical musicians, folk, instrumentalist and regional rep theatre.

Nigel Chapman from the Rum & Shrub Shantymen will be performing the song.

Rum & Shrub are a group of traditional shanty singers from Cornwall, with a worldwide reputation for lively singing of shanties, sea songs and folk songs.

The group sings Cornwall My Home as part of their repertoire and know Harry Glasson very well.

They said: "We have been singing together as a group since 1991 and known each other for a lot longer than that!

"We are equally at home on a concert stage, on a boat or quay, or in a bar – in fact since we seem to spend so much time singing around the local waters, Mylor Yacht Club might well be our second home."

Planning is under way for Falmouth’s International Sea Shanty Festival 2021, which will take place from June 11 to 13, but for the moment, tune in to BBC Radio 4 for a taste of shanty tomorrow morning.