Rain leads to proms firm collapse

Four thousand tickets were on sale for each of the prom concerts

The recent wet weather has forced the cancellation of nine open-air prom concerts in England and the collapse of the firm organising them.

The Classical Prom Company said ticket sales had fallen while the ground at some venues was "completely sodden".

Concerts were planned this summer in Oxfordshire, Dorset, Sussex, north London, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.

People who had bought tickets will be contacted to arrange refunds.

A message on the company's booking line said: "Regrettably in view of the bad weather we've had to cancel all our concerts for the coming summer.

"The office is now closed and the company has been placed in liquidation."

CANCELLED CONCERTS 14 July - Trent Country Park, Enfield, north London 21 July - Radley College, Abingdon, Oxfordshire 28 July - Spetchley Gardens, Worcester 4 August - Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex 11 August - Rugby School, Warwickshire 18 August - Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire 1 September - Sherborne Castle, Dorset 8 September - Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire 15 Sept - West Dean Gardens, Chichester, West Sussex

Director Mark Toynbee said 2007 would have been the third year for the Summer Tour of the Classical Prom Company, which was based near Ashford, in Kent.

He said bookings for the concerts went well from March to May, but heavy rain across England in June had "severely depressed" ticket sales.

"It's a funny thing that what the weather does outside at a particular time can influence whether people will buy a ticket for an open-air concert," he explained.

Mr Toynbee said only two out of the nine concerts were close to reaching three-quarters of ticket sales and breaking even.

"We looked at the option of curtailing the concerts and concentrating on the later ones.

"But even doing that was an enormous risk if it doesn't stop raining... and the cancellation charges of those that we pulled would have outweighed the likely revenue from those that would remain.

"Even the ones in the height of the summer, the condition of the ground was going to be still too wet," he added.

Mr Toynbee said three temporary members of staff who had been employed over the summer had to be let go.