BOLTON’S biggest annual music event has been cancelled because of an eleventh-hour glitch with funding.

Organisers on Thursday night pulled the plug on the Bolton Music Showcase, which was due to take place in Leverhulme Park on Saturday.

The event was expected to draw about 2,000 visitors and would have showcased 19 of the town’s best bands, along with poetry, art and theatre events.

A failed funding application to the National Lottery’s Awards For All scheme and a lack of local support is being blamed for the cancellation.

Showcase chairman Don McColl said: “We haven’t received a large part of our funding and the alternate funding streams we pursued didn’t come off.

“We’re all disappointed. Bolton’s biggest annual music event is ruined.

"The best chance for Bolton’s bands to show the rest of the borough what they’re about has been wasted and a lot of people are going to feel let down.”