Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is looking for a new partner to help run the town's annual two-day music and arts festival from 2021 as 'rising costs' mean its at risk of cuts.

B LOVE Festival is an annual two-day summer event which brings over 100 live music acts, family entertainment and art in unusual places to War Memorial Park, and is the finale event of Basingstoke Festival.

Following the introduction of a small entry charge from 2018, the event has been able to attract bigger and better acts to the borough while supporting the very best of Basingstoke’s live music scene, live arts and family fun.

However, with declining budgets and rising infrastructure costs, the council has said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver the event and therefore outsourcing the event is being considered.

As part of its plans to fund services in 2021/22, the cabinet’s budget proposals include a review of the council’s support for B LOVE Festival and an exercise to explore the option of an external provider helping to deliver the event from 2021.

Organisations with experience in delivering large events and festivals are now being encouraged to take part in a procurement process to allow the council to identify partners who may be able to help deliver the event.

Cabinet member for communities, culture and partnerships Cllr Simon Bound said: “Basingstoke and Deane’s cultural offer is an important part of what makes the borough a great place to live and visit and we know B LOVE Festival is a big part of this. However, as a council we are facing difficult decisions on how we should spend our money, in order to protect services that matter most to our residents.

“The council continues to get positive feedback from those who attend B LOVE Festival but to ensure it continues to be a great event for everyone and is sustainable for the future, it is important for us to look at running this event in partnership with a specialist organisation.

“I am looking forward to hearing from organisations who have experience in running large events and festivals. This feedback will help us understand how the event can be managed going forward and will be considered by the Cabinet before a decision on the budget is taken by Council in February 2021.”

If you would like to know more, visit https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=96c8075f-1b41-eb11-8106-005056b64545&p=08800155-5442-e511-80ed-000c29c9ba21 before the deadline of Monday 18 January 2021.

For more information about the cabinet’s budget proposals for 2021/22 and to take part in the consultation, which runs until Sunday 3 January 2021, visit basingstoke.gov.uk/budget2020.