Guildford Cathedral will host two silent discos in its nave

The cathedral is hosting two silent disco events on 17 and 24 February

Guildford Cathedral has said its decision to host a disco fits in with its vision of being "open to all".

Tickets for the 90s-themed silent discos on 17 February and 24 February are sold out.

A cathedral spokesperson said the events would generate extra funding and not disrupt its services programme.

Guildford is listed on a petition that calls on Anglican Deans to "stop turning our great cathedrals into nightclubs".

Started by Cajetan Skowronski, the petition has garnered nearly 2,000 signatures.

He told BBC Radio Surrey: "It diminishes those spaces and takes away from the sacredness.

"The church is the place to go for that peace, for that sense of serenity, for that sense of being connected with a higher power, and it's not a place to go to listen to Eminem and have a few vodka shots with strobe lighting," he added.

Matt O'Grady, the cathedral's chief operating officer, said care had been taken to make sure everything was done "appropriately" and "respectfully".

Morning prayer will be held the following morning

Last week, Canterbury Cathedral defended its decision to host a silent disco.

The discos are organised by a company called Silent Discos in Incredible Places, which holds similar events at cathedrals around the country and internationally.

This month alone, silent discos have been held at cathedrals in Canterbury, Chester, Chelmsford and Hereford.

'Much needed income'

Tickets for the Guildford events were on sale from £28.57 each and Mr O'Grady said they would bring in additional income.

He said: "These events fit in with our vision of being 'open to God, open to all', and will enable us to use our spare capacity to generate much needed income."

The pattern of services at the cathedral would not be interrupted, Mr O'Grady added, and morning prayer would be held the following morning at 07:45 GMT.

Mr O'Grady said: "It is a sacred space, but in order to keep that sacred space open we need to provide other opportunities to generate income."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]