TAXPAYERS are set to pick up the tab after a council-run music festival failed to strike a chord with punters.
The Point on the Park event in Eastleigh promised to be a musical extravaganza but attracted far smaller numbers than the 8,000 that descended on the free Southampton Mela last week.
Failure to draw in the crowds is set to leave taxpayers picking up the bill for expensive acts including the Bootleg Beatles which the Daily Echo understands to have cost in the region of £15,000.
The Bluetones, Acoustic Jass and folk legends Waterson: Carthy also played at the five-day event which attracted a total audience of about 2,000 people, organisers said.
Visitors were left disappointed at the amount of people watching the headline act and are angry that now they will be the ones paying for it.
Matthew Myatt, from Eastleigh, counted a mere 200 people in the audience as headliners The Bootleg Beatles took to the stage but the council insists the real figure was nearer 500.
Council bosses however say the event was a success and want to bring it back next year.
For the full story see today's Daily Echo
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article