A FESTIVAL director said he is ‘saddened and gutted’ after an annual Remembrance show was cancelled for only the third time in 31 years.

Organisers for The Festival of Remembrance, due to be held at the Wyvern Theatre on October 30 have made the decision to pull the plug citing problems with acts pulling out and difficulties with car parking.

The festival is traditionally held in the week before Remembrance Sunday with proceeds from ticket sales donated to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

“We’re all saddened and gutted, it’s the worst outcome,” said secretary and festival director Phil Nobbs.

“Apart from the service at the cenotaph this is the only large-scale Swindon event dedicated to Remembrance and now it’s gone.

“Acts kept pulling out without giving a reason and in the end we only had 21 minutes of actual entertainment which for a two and a half hour show was never going to work.

“There is a problem with parking at the Wyvern Theatre which has also made things difficult. Many of our guests as you can imagine are elderly and it was becoming more and more difficult to get them to come to the Wyvern.

“We were reluctant to sign a contract when we weren’t sure we could pull it off.

“We also missed deadlines because of all the uncertainty. It was a difficult and very hard decision to make for everyone involved.”

The show had been a mini version of the Festival Of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, which is attended by the Queen, and included standard bearers, choirs and bands.

It was cancelled most recently in 2012 due to lack of sponsors and dwindling ticket sales. And in 2013, less than half of available tickets were sold.

But the following year, with the help of a new organising team, it bounced back to become a sell-out.

“Attendance was better last year but there were still 130 seats empty which is a shame,” said Phil.

“We had plans to revamp it this year but sadly it wasn’t meant to be.”

Phil said he did not know if the festival could be resurrected.

“The future is uncertain at the moment, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future and if there will be another event.”

Organisers now hope to replace the event with a summer concert to take place next year.

“Nothing has been ironed out yet, it’s an idea which we very much hope will come to pass,” said Phil.