'Watch this space' say organisers of closing festival

The four-day festival has been running for the past 60 years

Organisers of a music festival which is shutting down following financial challenges have told fans to "watch this space".

This year's Towersey Festival, which started in Oxfordshire 60 years ago, has been billed as its last ever event.

The festival has championed roots and folk music, but has been hampered by inflation and the Covid-19 pandemic in recent years.

On its final day, co-director Joe Heap said he had "one eye on the future".

The organisers say they have faced economic challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic

First held in the village of Towersey, the festival moved to nearby Thame in 2015 before settling at the Claydon Estate in Buckinghamshire in 2020.

Founded by Denis Manners MBE in 1965, five years before Glastonbury, the event is now run by Mr Heap and Mary Hodson, two of Mr Manners' grandchildren.

This year's event began on 23 August, with the organisers announcing it would be their last.

Mr Heap said it was a "sign of the times".

"Ever since Covid, the festival and cultural sector just hasn’t ever really truly recovered," he said.

The festival was expected to attract about 5,000 visitors

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, Mr Heap teased possible plans for the future.

“Watch this space," he said, adding: "Something else is coming but just something slightly different and more economically viable."

The event, which draws to a close on Bank Holiday Monday, has looked back at the festival's history with a 1965 dance party and an "in conversation” gathering with festival-goers that were there at the beginning.

“It’s been really well received and everybody’s had a fabulous time," Mr Heap said.

The event will end with a grand finale, including music, a lantern procession and speeches.

Mr Heap said the team had "mixed emotions" about the festival coming to an end after so many years.

"Very, very sad but also really proud of what we’ve done… with one eye on the future, should I say.”