Festival cancelled due to funding

Last year's Mela combined dancing, sport, music and entertainment

An annual multi-cultural event has been cancelled by council chiefs this year because of a lack of funding.

Oxford City Council said it could not afford to put £8,000 towards the Oxford Mela because it needed to make savings of £5.3m this year.

The Mela - a Hindi word for a "gathering of people" - is a festival which celebrates diversity in the city.

Organisers said it was important the festival went ahead, saying it brought different communities together.

Last year, the city council contributed about £8,000 to the event's running costs.

The council's community cohesion officer, who was in charge of organising the Mela, left last year.

Because of a recruitment freeze at the authority the position has not yet been replaced.

The council suggested organisers of this year's scaled-down Cowley Road Carnival could feature some aspects of the Mela.