Brecon Fringe Festival to go ahead

Organisers of the Brecon Fringe Festival insist the event will go ahead in 2009, even if the main jazz festival doesn't take place.

It follows a decision by the Arts Council of Wales to invite two groups of bidders to submit plans for an international jazz festival in 2010, saying it was "too risky" to contemplate a festival this year after the organising company ceased trading.

A statement on the Fringe website declares "the Arts Council of Wales does not own Brecon Jazz Festival. Anyone could put on a jazz festival in Brecon provided they had the funds to do so."

The Fringe festival has operated parallel to but independently of the official jazz festival for a number of years.

As well as staging rock and blues gigs, the Fringe has increasingly offered opportunities to local jazz bands from south Wales who'd suffered from cutbacks in street gigs run by the official festival.

See the Brecon Fringe website for more details.

The Fringe has also set up an online petition calling on the Welsh Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones to use his influence on the Arts Council of Wales to ensure the main jazz festival goes ahead in 2009 - see the petition right here.