diff --git a/vcsserver/lib/_vendor/statsd/__init__.py b/vcsserver/lib/_vendor/statsd/__init__.py
--- a/vcsserver/lib/_vendor/statsd/__init__.py
+++ b/vcsserver/lib/_vendor/statsd/__init__.py
@@ -38,8 +38,14 @@ def client_from_config(configuration, pr
     ipv6 = asbool(_config.pop('statsd_ipv6', IPV6))
     log.debug('configured statsd client %s:%s', host, port)
 
-    return StatsClient(
-        host=host, port=port, prefix=prefix, maxudpsize=maxudpsize, ipv6=ipv6)
+    try:
+        client = StatsClient(
+            host=host, port=port, prefix=prefix, maxudpsize=maxudpsize, ipv6=ipv6)
+    except Exception:
+        log.exception('StatsD is enabled, but failed to connect to statsd server, fallback: disable statsd')
+        client = None
+
+    return client
 
 
 def get_statsd_client(request):