THE Winchester Festival is reporting record ticket sales for more than 30 events taking place in and around Winchester next month.

Appearances by household names including actress Dame Judi Dench, newsreader George Alagiah and film critic Barry Norman are drawing the audiences.

Several events have already sold out. The festival runs from July 4-13. At the beginning of June sales were up six per cent on the same period last year.

City centre manager Graham Love said: "Events like the Winchester Festival are great for the local economy. They bring in visitors to celebrate the arts and get experience of Winchester as a historic city. When you combine the festival with other events like the Hat Fair it really puts Winchester on the map."

Festival director Rosemary Spedding said: "This year's programme has a particularly good mix of literary, musical and stage events and with the Hat Fair also running over the first of our two weekends there promises to be a fun-filled atmosphere throughout the city."

"In particular, we hope the Last Night of the Proms fireworks concert on July 12 will become something of a city-wide celebration, building on the community spirit established during last year's Jubilee festivities and bringing people together in a fun, relaxed way."

Sell-outs to date include Judi Dench and two of the four jazz suppers. The two Cathedral concerts are also proving popular, although some top price seats are still available for violinist Tasmin Little on Tuesday, July 8.

For further information and tickets visit the festival website at www.winchesterfestival. co.uk or call the box office on 01962 877977.