IT is a crying shame Colchester’s Free Festival will not be held this year.

The event has proved highly popular with musicians and audiences alike, and seemed to have been given a new lease of life last year when it returned after a break in 2014 for two days jammed full of performances.

The organisers say it cost in the region of £50,000 to host the event which is a mammoth sum for a festival run entirely by volunteers, who must be praised to the hilt for all their hard work in previous years.

It had become a summer tradition for music lovers and families to down to Castle Park and enjoy the entertainment.

Who knows how many young budding musical acts have been inspired?

The news comes hot on the heels of Colchester Film Festival having to shut down and the scrapping of the fun day section of Colchester Carnival.

Admittedly, events like this cost a small fortune to organise, but that’s where the likes of Colchester Council have to come to the fore and either find some money in the coffers to help out, or provide a platform for them to thrive with its expertise.

The demise of these event should also serve as a wake-up call to the community. If you want these free events, you might have to give them some of your time.

We hope to see the Free Festival back, and better than ever, in 2017.