Wimbledon Park will be quieter than expected this August bank holiday, after a festival of music, food and fireworks was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. 

Live at Wimbledon Park was due to be held from Friday, August 26, until Monday, August 29, and set to include acts such the City of London Sinfonia, the Definitive Rat Pack and performances from Horrible Histories.

However, the event has now been cancelled by Merton Council after they failed to sell enough tickets. 

A Merton Council spokesperson said: “It is regrettable that we are having to cancel this year’s Live at Wimbledon Park.

“It is right that councils should be entrepreneurial and creative in their initiatives, but events must pay for themselves to be financially sustainable, especially in these challenging times of central government cuts to council funding.

“Despite doing everything within our means to advertise and promote tickets for the event, we have not sold enough to be able to take this further. All tickets will be refunded.”

The early cancellation has cost the council £25,000. In contrast, running last year's event Classics in the Park led to the huge loss of £81,000 for Merton Council. 

Conservative spokesman for regeneration and sustainability, Councillor Najeeb Latif, said: "After losing nearly £100,000 on this event last year, at least Merton Council have had the sense to cancel this year's event before incurring further losses. 

"This further confirms the council's lacklustre record in generating commercial revenues from its assets."

The council have said that tickets, which ranged in price from £15 to £25 a day, will be refunded through the ticket provider See Tickets.

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