A major music festival which attracts thousands of
fans is being permanently cancelled because of financial pressures, organisers
say.
Leicester's
Summer Sundae was not held in 2013 but was expected to return next year.
In the past, it
has featured acts such as McFly, Amy Winehouse and Mumford and Sons.
The festival
began in 2001 as a 10-hour event and expanded into a three-day gig with five
stages of music and comedy.
Recession woes
More than
12,000 fans attended the most recent Summer Sundae, which was held at De
Montfort Hall in 2012.
Organiser Rob
Challice said: "Running a city-centre event of this size with such an
array of entertainment and professional production standards is just not
possible in the current economic climate.
"We have
been thinking about this for the last year or two - but it is the financial
reality of trying to run a festival in a city centre with the standard of
performers we have set.
"We
couldn't fall behind and produce a sub-standard event."
Anthony Flint,
manager of De Montfort Hall, said: "No-one takes this sort of decision
lightly - the festival has always needed a subsidy from the city council... but
the landscape has changed and it is a case of adapting to that reality."
Summer Sundae
received £60,000 from the city council in 2011 and £80,000 in 2012.
In 2012,
promoters Concert Clinic said the Olympics, recession and the bad weather had
made it difficult for independent festivals to survive.
Source: BBC
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