Chesney's Xmas Cracker axed for poor sales

Dec 3 2009 By Emma Heseltine

Chesney chats with a child at the White Lodge Centre

ONE of the biggest fundraisers for the White Lodge Centre in Chertsey has had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

The annual Chesney's Christmas Cracker, which usually draws big star names in support of the centre for disabled children and adults, including its patron Chesney Hawkes, had struggled to get off the ground this year.

Late Boyzone singer Stephen Gately had been due to headline the event, but when he died in October, a new line-up had to be organised, but with everyone tightening their belts in the recession, ticket sales were poor.

Chesney, who puts all his efforts into organising and hosting the event every year, said: "I am sad to have to announce that we have decided to postpone the Christmas Cracker for this year, but hope to be back next year – bigger and better.

"The event has always been a sell-out and we have enjoyed some unique performances from artists such as Jason Donovan, Nik Kershaw, Bobby Davro, Shane Ritchie and many others who have made the Cracker the excellent event that it has become.

"In the last few days, however, those of us organising the event have realised that we were unlikely by some margin to match the attendance of previous years and so we have been faced with two choices.

"The first was to plough on regardless and put on an under par event, unfairly to both the artists who had so generously offered to perform on the night as well as for those who had dug deep into their pockets to support the charity.

"Our second choice, and we have agonise over this decision for some days, is to avoid selling anyone short by nor proceeding with the event under these circumstances and this is what, regretfully, we have decided to do."

The Cracker would have been in its fourth year when it was to be staged at Club One in Ascot on December 13. Over the past three years, it has raised £70,000 for the White Lodge Centre in Holloway Hill.

Anybody who has paid for tickets will receive a full refund, and it this early stage, the centre does not know how it will make the money expected from this year's Cracker, but Chesney is likely to be involved.

It costs more than £300,000 a year to keep the centre up and running. For more information, or to donate, visit www.whitelodgecentre.co.uk