Ellesmere Proms in the Park event scrapped

A flagship event scheduled to take place in a north Shropshire beauty spot this year has had to be scrapped due to lack of sponsors, it was revealed today.

Ellesmere's Proms in the Park, featuring the world famous British Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, has previously attracted more than 800 visitors.

Hundreds of people had already signed up to attend the event which was due to take place beside the Mere in Cremorne Gardens on September 17.

Doubts over its future were raised in February when organisers revealed more sponsors were needed to cover the costs of the acts, staging and firework finale.

Organisers were given a boost when supermarket giant Tesco, ABP, Fullwood Ltd and Ellesmere College agreed to support the proms, but it did not prove to be enough to save the event.

The event was launched in 2009 under the name of Ellesmere's Party in the Park, to celebrate 90 years of the international charity Save the Children and its association with Ellesmere founder Eglantyne Jebb.

Profits were due to be split between the Save the Children Fund and local children's charities.

Organiser Zoe Day said: "It's not going ahead. It's very sad.

"I did everything I could. At the end of the day we didn't have enough people to come forward to sponsor the event.

"We were relying on local business to come forward, but we are in a difficult economic climate at the moment.

"It would have boosted tourism and really put the town on the map.

"If you go into Ellesmere at the moment there is nothing to illustrate the town's link to the charity.

"I am not going to try and organise it again."