Charmed Life Festival promoter changes his mind and WILL now stage Portsmouth event for a third timeÂ

Organisers of Portsmouth's Charmed Life Festival have vowed to put on the one-day music event for a third time.

It comes after this year's show was pummelled by a day of relentless rain which turned off many revellers from joining the action at Victoria Park.

The poor turnout left co-organiser Gareth Wright worried he had failed to pull in enough cash to make ends meet, which led to him saying he may axe the show altogether.

However, his comments sparked an outcry from hundreds of supporters, who begged him to not give up on Charmed Life.

And now, Mr Wright and his wife, Charlie, have caved in and fixed a date for the third show '“ earmarked for Saturday, September 21.

Speaking to The News, he said: '˜At the time it was chucking it down and I thought 'I'm not doing this again'.

'˜But it was so humbling to see how many people loved it and wanted it to continue. I was over-the-moon by all the kind messages.

'˜The number of emails and people saying we have got to do it and that we were a great, quirky, little festival was heartwarming.

'˜After a bit of reflection we realised it would be silly to wrap it up after just two events. 

'˜It was nothing we did wrong with the festival, it was just a one-off, terrible, terrible day.'

The excited 38-year-old promoter from Fareham said he is now going to put in even more effort to making next year's show bigger and better than before.

Mr Wright said he is already working on securing a bumper roster of live music acts, drawn from across the Portsmouth area.

As well as having his two stages, he also aims to introduce a smaller acoustic venue, where artists will perform between acts on the main stage.

And applications for local bands to take part in the festival have already opened.

'˜We're open to anyone in the PO post code,' said Mr Wright. '˜There are little gems out there just starting out as well as the more established acts too.

'˜We just want to showcase all the local talent on offer in the Portsmouth area.'

Discounted early bird tickets for Charmed Life are available now, with 250 on offer at https://book.events/charmedlifefestival

Mr Wright also hopes to offer more entertainment for adults and is eager to hear people's views about what they would like to see.

To get in touch, or find the latest details about the show, search '˜Charmed Life Festival' on Facebook.