Well, it's one for less money. Two for a cheaper show. Three for the cut-price disco, now the free bar must go, write Reg Little and Mark Templeton.

Elvis impersonator Malcolm Baker began to wish he'd stuck to his Blue Suede Shoes after volunteering to organise the big Millennium bash in Kidlington.

More than 250 tickets for the party at Exeter Hall went on sale in May.

But with only 29 sold, Mr Baker has been forced to cut ticket prices from £60 to £25 to save the event. The band and DJ are having their fees cut by a third, the free bar idea has been dropped and Mr Baker may even add his Elvis Presley act to ensure he is not lonesome on the big night.

Mr Baker, 47, an account manager with the Royal Mail, has an impressive record for organising charity shows and reckons to have raised over £30,000 for good causes.

He decided to take on the Millennium event as a "thank you" to Exeter Hall for helping him with his fundraising shows over the years.

Mr Baker now fears the Kidlington celebration will prove one of many forced to cut back on big plans for December 31. And he has appealed to groups and disco organisers not to be greedy or some events will simply be scrapped altogether.

Mr Baker, of Bicester Road, Kidlington, says: "Some bands wanted £10,000 for the night, that's five times the normal price. And some people wanted £2,500 for the disco.

"We were faced with cancelling, taking a chance and risk scrapping it at the last minute or renegotiate prices. Fortunately, everyone has been reasonable.

"I started to become seriously concerned by October.

"If tickets are not selling you have to ask why and we decided people were being put off by the cost." He jokes that his variety nights at Exeter Hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, featuring Elvis and the Shylites, had all "outsold the Millennium".

"Because of all the hype, I am afraid that people now have the impression that the Millennium is being used to rip people off and everyone is suffering.

"There is definitely a Millennium Mil-aise factor."

But he says reducing ticket prices has paid immediate dividends and 60 tickets have now been sold and he is confident the rest will go.

New Year's Eve celebrations in Oxford are more likely to go with a whimper than a bang, according to licensees. Many venues are struggling to sell tickets for events and some bars are closing their doors for the big night because of predicted low attendances.

Plans for a bash which could have attracted up to 1,000 revellers in North Hinksey have also been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Nicola Darby, general manager of Jongleurs club, Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, says they are re-thinking plans to open their doors.

She says: "If we don't sell all 250 tickets in the next ten days we will review the situation - at the moment we've only sold 50. "We're not hosting a comedy event because we couldn't get comedians to leave London for the night and I think people are definitely looking to how much money they'll have left after Christmas before deciding what they are doing for New Year's Eve."

The club is paying its staff triple time and a cash bonus for working on the special night.

Miss Darby adds: "Even if we do get 250 through the door we'll still be only just breaking even as we'll be paying up to £750 for a DJ as well."

The Fuggle and Firkin, Gloucester Street, Oxford, has been given permission to open its doors until 4am but the other two Firkin venues in Cowley Road and Jericho will close for the night. Landlord Jonathan Lee says: "We may not stay open until that time, we will just have to judge on the night how busy we are and the doors may close earlier."

Oxford City Council's health and environment licensing panel granted the two venues licenses to remain open until 4am along with Thirst, Park End Street.

Bar Med, which is due to open shortly in St Ebbe's Street after a £1m conversion at the former Harry Ramsden's restaurant site, will open until 1am. The panel also extended the licensing hours of new music venue Root.Net, Park End Street, until 1am Mondays to Saturdays.

Millennium license applications by Yesbut, George Street and Antiquity Hall, Hythe Bridge Street, were thrown out after representatives of the venues failed to turn up to the meeting.

Story date: Wednesday 08 December

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