Music festival 'in precarious position'

A fundraising campaign has been launched ahead of the event's 40th year

Organisers of a music festival have issued a plea for help after Birmingham City Council said it could no longer provide financial support.

Those behind the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival in July said the ability to organise and present an event "of the quality we have all come to expect hangs in the balance".

A fundraising campaign has been launched ahead of the event's 40th year, with a GoFundMe page setting a target of £20,000.

The council said given its "current challenges", it was not possible to offer financial support this year.

The authority recently approved a wave of spending cuts, with cultural venues such as Birmingham Rep, Birmingham Royal Ballet and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra all being rocked by planned cuts to grants.

Festival director Jim Simpson stated on his fundraising page that each year since 1985 the event had had to apply to the council for one year's funding at a time.

He added for 39 years the authority had been "a crucial supporter" and its decision to withdraw all funding "puts the festival in an incredibly precarious position".

'Years to come'

The event is to be held from 19 to 28 July.

According to the fundraising page, donations will go towards helping sustain the festival and covering essential costs, preserving free access and marking the event's anniversary.

Mr Simpson said "we believe that together, we can... ensure" the festival "continues to inspire, entertain and unite us for years to come".

On Monday, the council said it had supported the event for a number of years.

Leader John Cotton previously stated culture cuts were an emblem of the difficult choices the council had to make amid the need to also deliver frontline services to vulnerable people.

"In an ideal world I'd prefer not to be in this position but we are having to cut our cloth accordingly," he said earlier this year.

"We’ve got lots of investment coming into this city, lots of people locating businesses and jobs here," Mr Cotton stated.

"I think there’s conversations that we need to have around how we work together as a city as a whole, not just the city council, around protecting and supporting some of our cultural institutions."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.