Summer comedy festival cancelled by organisers

A summer comedy festival set to take place at a park in Leicester has been cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances".

In an email sent to ticket holders, organisers confirmed LCF In The Park, which was due to take place at Abbey Park on 14 June, would not go ahead.

The event - an off-shoot of Leicester Comedy Festival - was due to feature appearances from comedians such as Lou Sanders and Tom Rosenthal.

Both festivals are organised by non-profit organisation Big Difference, which said last month that cashflow problems were to blame for hundreds of performers still being owed money for their appearances at Leicester Comedy Festival.

In a message to ticket-holders for the Abbey Park event, organisers said costs would be refunded within 10 working days but booking fees were non-refundable.

The cancellation comes shortly after it was revealed that hundreds of acts and venues from the Leicester Comedy Festival had not been paid.

Michael Harris-Wakelam, chief executive of Big Difference, said organisers were committed to paying comedians but were waiting on the money themselves and were speaking to banks about bridging loans to get artists paid sooner.

"We're having to look at alternative sources of finance to bridge that gap, but that takes time," he said.

"We're prioritising those artists right now - to the detriment of some of our other planned activities."

Harris-Wakelam has been approached for further comment.

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