DESPITE two major music events being axed in Oxfordshire, the organiser of the county’s Cornbury Festival says the show will go on.

It has been confirmed that the annual Cornbury Festival — which attracted crowds of up to 12,000 people last year — is still set to take place in Charlbury, near Witney, on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.

And two more acts have been added to the line-up — blues guitarist and Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, and rock band The Lightning Seeds.

Festival for Heroes, which should have taken place at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, and the Indie Guitar Festival, set to take place in Ascott-under-Wychwood, have both been axed, with organisers blaming the recession for low ticket sales.

Cornbury Festival organiser Hugh Phillimore admitted that the music event expected just 8,000 people this year — a third down on last year.

He said: “The bad weather is not helping and obviously because of the recession we are down on ticket sales.

“The festival market is growing so huge — there are 450 festivals in the UK this summer — and everyone thinks it’s an easy thing to do, but it’s just not.

“I think in this environment it’s particularly hard as the big boys have got the Springsteens and the Blurs. There is a huge amount of choice.

“People are really making decisions on the basis of the weather – the feedback is that the weather at Cornbury last year was so atrocious that people are waiting until the last minute.”

Mr Phillimore, who a member of the Association of Independent Festivals, said most music events had suffered between 10 to 18 per cent lower ticket sales.

He added: “I think Cornbury will be fine as the community element is so strong. We’re not in it to make millions of pounds, we’re interested in it so that it will support itself.”

Scouting for Girls, Sugababes and the Pretenders will headline the festival with other confirmed acts such as the Magic Numbers and Joe Jackson.

Festival for Heroes was set to take place in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, next Saturday.

The festival aimed to raise £1m for the Royal British Legion and was expected to draw in crowds of 30,000. But reportedly, only 15,000 tickets were sold.

Festival director Jack Knowles said he hoped the event would return next year.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Indie Guitar Festival — due to be held at the same time as Oxfordshire’s Truck festival, from Friday, July 24, until Sunday, July 26 — was also being axed because of the recession.

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk