Elgar festival dealing with big funding cut

Edward Elgar grew up in Worcestershire and is remembered with a festival in the city

An arts festival which celebrates the work of Edward Elgar is having to make changes to cope with an expected 40% drop in funding.

Kenneth Woods, the artistic director of the Elgar Festival in Worcester, said it had "cut back enormously on the artistic spend" of this year's event.

He warned that with costs continuing to rise, it was "quite a gap that we need to fill".

Arts Council England said it recognised the importance of this festival and has provided £30,000 for this year.

Mr Woods said: "We are now at the stage where we have to make sure that the stuff that's still on is viable."

He also said it was important "we come out of the festival in a strong enough position to keep our work going for the next 12 months".