THE OLDEST carnival in the South kicks off today at eight minutes past noon with nine days of colour and spectacle lined up for the fun-loving residents of Eastleigh.

But a question mark still hangs over the long-term future of the 113-year-old event as ticket sales for the week's shows fail to hit the mark.

Carnival organisers say the curtain could fall once and for all after bookings for specially- laid-on events at the town's arts and dance venue slumped.

They claim the installation of new computer equipment at The Point's booking office threw a spanner in the works during last week's crucial sales period.

But management at the venue say that it has been business as usual for ticket sales, and that the carnival is the only event not to have sold well.

Of £1,000-worth of ticket sales taken by hand at the venue during the two-and-a-half-day period that the computers were down, only £63 was taken for the carnival.

And sales for Monday's variety show have been so poor that 150 tickets have been freed up for organisers to try to sell directly.

Clair Wright, chairwoman of the carnival committee, said the poor sales could jeopardise the future of the carnival, which raises thousands of pounds each year for charity but has already had problems with funding.

She said: "This just adds to the whole saga. We just seem to be bashing our heads against a brick wall. Some members have said they have got to the point that they are not sure if they can carry on. If we are not getting much in return is it actually worth us carrying on"

The Point's manager, Mary Dawson, denied that the installation had in any way affected sales and said that staff had been actively promoting the carnival shows.

She said: "We had a new system installed and the computers had to go down, but for the whole period we have had it manned manually. Nobody has been disappointed."

For tickets for carnival shows, call 023 8065 2333.

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