George - interesting point.

From EDDC's point of view, if making a day trip to the festival is part of the general tourist experience, and one of the local attractions, it probably still benefits the local economy even if not Sidmouth traders.

OK I quoted £5 million because that was the figure quoted in the Mrs Casey e-mail last month, and it's debatable. I don't think anybody could credibly claim that pubs etc take more in Festival week than the whole of the rest of the year, but it's probably equivalent to a month's taking rather than a week's, if not more. I interpret the EDDC support for continuing the festival next year as an acknowledgment of its importance for the local community as a whole. If Monday's meeting was mainly about establishing local priorities, and whether the festival should continue at all, it's not entirely daft that Steve wasn't invited to attend.

OK, lots of people have been critical of Steve's more commercial approach and the dropping of the word "folk" from the publicity, but he's kept the festival going for a very long time. It's going to be particularly interesting to see whether the festival continues as a folk festival.......

Kitty