Thousands of music fans look set to be disappointed as one of Wiltshire's most prestigious summer music events could be cancelled after the company that runs it went into liquidation.

Heaven on Earth Promotions signed a deal last year to keep the summer pop and classical music extravaganza at Lydiard Park until 2004.

But records from Companies House, the Government body which registers company information, show that Heaven on Earth filed for liquidation on November 15.

John Short, director of Swindon Services at Swindon Council, confirmed that the park has not been booked for the event this year.

When the company was wound up the contract was cancelled.

Last year almost 30,000 people attended the two concerts held back to back at Lydiard Park on August 23 and 25.

On August 23, 10,000 classical music lovers turned out for the Classical Proms Extravaganza and on August 25 the Party in the Park attracted 17,000 pop music fans.

It was estimated that the festival, organised by Eddie Sharpe of Heaven on Earth Promotions, cost between £400,000 and £500,000 to stage.

Paul Gray, a promoter of Swindon-based PM Music Management, said that it was sad to see the festival coming to an end but warned that organising concerts was a risky business.

He said: "A top ten act will want at least £10,000, so if you want three or four of them that sets you back £50,000 before you have started and then you have all the additional costs and it is going to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"Something like that takes five or six months to organise, and you aren't getting paid while that is being done, and if ticket sales don't go as well as you hope it can be quite a risk.

"But Eddie Sharp has set the benchmark down and it is up to the town to move it on.

"People need to sit down and see what we can do because this summer thousands of pop fans will be taking their money to London or the NEC in Birmingham."

Ward councillor Chris Shepherd (Lib Dem, Freshbrook and Grange Park) said: "I am disappointed to hear this news because I went to both concerts last year and they were very good fun.

"People say we don't have enough events like this in Swindon and I think it would be a good idea if the council sought someone else to run a similar event.

"Lydiard Park now has a track record of attracting big numbers of people to such events and it would be a shame to lose it."

Eddie Sharpe could not be contacted by the Evening Advertiser for comment.

Swindon Council spokeswoman, Caroline Pike, said: "Heaven and Earth promotions went into liquidation some months ago and the council has had no further contact with the company."

Thousands flocked to party in the park

FOR MORE than a decade thousands of Swindonians flocked through the gates of Lydiard Park at the August Bank Holiday to hear some of the biggest names in pop and classical music.

Steps, Liberty X, Dane Bowers and Mis-Teeq are just some of chart-topping names that have graced the festival in recent years.

For the past two years the pop festival was headlined by boyband A1, who came in at short notice in 2001 to replace 5ive, who split up days after pulling out.

Last year a giant Orbit stage was put up, 21.2 metres wide and 15.7 metres high.

It had a lighting rig with 44 moving heads on the roof, 268 coloured lights and 70 moving lights on the stage, with laser style search lights behind the stage.

Last years classical concert featured singer and comedian Bobby Davro and singer Kenny Lynch paying tribute to the Rat Pack backed by the English Symphony Orchestra.

The scale of the event was reflected in the ticket prices, which were £20 for the classical concert and £22 for the Party in the Park.