GAZETTE & HERALD: North Wiltshire District Council has pledged the show will go on, despite the sudden departure of festival chief Steve Cox.
The council has rallied its forces, determined the North Wiltshire Festival 2004 should be a showcase for business and entertainment but an overhaul of the programme has left victims along the way.
The three-day event will now be two days, July 16-17, and the talent contest has been ditched.
Organisers TalentSpot admitted they were disappointed when the district council contacted them last week to say they could not fund the contest because they wanted to focus resources on the festival event itself.
"This is the first time we have been involved with local government and now I am not surprised we see our rates go up for less return," said TalentSpot's Mike O'Brien.
"We put in more and more effort and they stepped back and stepped back. I appreciate they are fighting on a lot of fronts but I wish they had been honest from the start."
Strategic manager Laurie Bell will oversee the organisation of the festival and she said it would have cost £20,000 to stage the six TalentSpot heats around the district.
She added they could still offer TalentSpot time on the festival stage for the winners of the contest if they wanted to continue with the heats.
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