Sea Festival chiefs insist prices were not too high

ORGANISERS of a massive maritime festival which flopped when it was staged in Edinburgh for the first time have refused to blame the high costs of tickets after it emerged only around 50,000 people turned up.

Preliminary figures provided by the city council said only a third of the expected crowds descended on Leith for the four-day International Festival of the Sea last month.

Many Leithers claim they were put off going to the event by the costs of tickets, which were £15 for adults and £7.50 for children, while others who stumped up claimed the event represented poor value for money.

However, festival chairman Peter Workman said the costs of entry were kept as low as possible but insisted the event would not have been viable for any less.

But instead of blaming the cost of the tickets he blamed the poor attendance on bad weather on the opening day, the war on Iraq and Celtic’s defeat in the UEFA Cup Final just a few days before the event got underway.

Organisers had expected around 150,000 people to flock to Leith for attractions like the Royal Navy's newest ship HMS Tyne and the Dutch tall ships Artemis and Astridas, as well as exhibitions, food tastings and displays.

But traders who booked space at the event claimed they were left out of pocket and claimed the price of tickets had put too many people off.

However, Mr Workman said the entry costs were due to the expense of bringing quality exhibits to Leith.

"We didn't get as many people as we would have liked, but I don't think it was a mistake to charge £15, which in fact was less than we had charged before. We would have liked it cheaper, indeed we would have liked it to be free, but it would not have been viable for less."

He added: "It's difficult. If Celtic had won it would probably have been better, if the Gulf war hadn't happened, if the weather had been better. The biggest factor was that Ocean Terminal provided such a good vantage point for free. I just looked up and there were thousands, tens of thousands, of people there."