Belgian orchestra seeks eBay sale

The 40-piece orchestra is fighting to survive funding cuts

A Belgian orchestra which was short of funds put itself up for sale on online auction site eBay, but later withdrew the sale, saying it had been a "stunt".

They wanted to make a protest after the Flemish government cut their funding for the next three seasons.

The orchestra's manager, Bart Michiels, says Beethoven Academie needs 1m euros to keep going for the next year with 75 concerts already booked up.

Before withdrawing, it received a bid of 100,000 euros (£70,000).

The orchestra, which is based in the Flemish city of Mechelen (Malines in French), has 40 musicians and four staff.

They took down the listing themselves for "moral and judicial reasons", Mr Michiels told the BBC News website.

They are now trying to think of other options to save the orchestra, which is "still available", he added.

Cry for help

Mr Michiels described the move as a "cry of despair because we are quite sure for the time being that we will stop existing in a couple of months", he told the BBC's Newshour programme.

EBay Belgium says it is quite common for people to offer their services on the site - as the orchestra did - but it is illegal to buy or sell people, a spokesman told the BBC News website.

The orchestra would also have had to honour any sale even if they had sold for less than 1m euros.

They have now posted an independent petition on their website and hope a generous benefactor may respond to their appeal.