ORGANISERS fear for the future of Swindon’s annual Mela after a fundraising event with leading Asian performers failed to draw in the crowds.

Despite billing some of the world’s most well-respected acts, only 80 people came to Diwali Nights on Saturday, which was organised as the first of a series of fundraisers for the summer festival.

Chairman of the Mela, Jaspal Bhui, said: “It’s a bit of a knock-back because instead of raising funds for the Mela we lost some.

“The actual event was fantastic. All the people who were there had a very good time and we were very grateful to the performers who gave their time and gave such professional performances.

“But we were a bit disappointed with the turnout and we were disappointed with the people of Swindon for not giving us quite enough support.

“Around 80 people did turn up and they all had a really good time and it was great to have their support but we were hoping to have around 200 tickets sold.”

Organisers hope to continue to host fundraisers such as Diwali Nights – where visitors to the MECA in Regent Circus were stunned by the impressive performances by Sona Walia, a dancer widely recognised for the promotion of Punjabi culture, SK1, DCS and DJ Gamma – but are urging the public to step forward to help if they want to see the Mela return.

Jaspal said: “It’s not the end of the world, we will still continue with the other events we are planning.

“Last night there were several people saying that they were really pushing their companies to see if there is any chance they could help contribute to the sponsorship of the Mela and I would just keep urging them to do that.

“We are also asking companies to come forward to sponsor next year’s event, particularly local companies.

“Nationwide, who were at the event on Saturday, have been fantastic and they have confirmed they will also be at the Mela if it goes ahead.”

Each year the Mela costs up to £55,000 to arrange and the more money organisers are able to raise ahead of the event, the bigger, better and brighter it will be.

Jaspal said: “This event is for the people of Swindon and if they want it to take place next summer then it’s up to them to help us and show us some support.

“In every event there’s costs and without help from the people of Swindon we won’t be able to raise the funds to organise it.

“People have commented to me that they were disappointed after the last one was cancelled and they want it but if they want to see the Mela come back next year then we need their support so we can organise it for them.

“We don’t want Swindon to be called a boring place to be. We want it to be an exciting place that people want to come to.”

For more information or to get in touch, email info@swindonmela.com or visit swindonmela.com