THIS year's Winchester Festival is well on course for record sales figures but organisers still believe they will only break even.

Tickets are selling faster than ever before for the festival, which is showcasing the best of British talent in theatre, literature, visual arts and music in more than 30 events.

However, sponsorship of the event, which runs until Sunday, is down on previous years as a result of the uncertain economic climate.

The main sponsors of the event include Hampshire County Council, Camelot and various corporations and individuals.

The festival, which has been running for six years, has never made a profit and just about broke even last year.

"This year's festival has been a huge success, the box office has been besieged, advance bookings are up and many of our events have been a sell-out," said John Miller, festival director.

"At this stage of the festival we are doing better than we ever have. Nearly 6,000 people attended last year and we sold £67,000 worth of tickets. We nearly reached that this year when there were still six days to go. We should certainly exceed that by the end of the week.

The varied programme and big names including Dame Judi Dench, BBC newsreader George Alagiah and TV film critic Barry Norman have proved a hit but ticket sales alone will not be enough to ensure a profit.

Mr Miller believes this year's festival will still only break even because of a downturn in sponsorship.

It seems the financial situation is doomed to get even worse as next year Camelot will not be renewing its pledge to pump funds into the project.

Mr Miller said they have raised about £60,000 in sponsorship this year - £10,000 less than in 2002.

For further information and tickets visit the festival website at www.winchesterfestival.co.uk or call the box office on 01962 877977.