BOLTON is set to co-host a major international festival of street entertainment and cultural animation for the Millennium - if enough cash can be raised to get it off the ground. The town has been invited to take part in the Greater Manchester Streets Ahead programme which has been expanding since its birth in 1995. Leisure Services councillors decided to turn down an invitation to take part next year in a bid to draw resources together which will allow Bolton to join in from 1998 onwards.

Streets Ahead festivals ran in Manchester and Stockport in 1995 and in Manchester, Stockport, Tameside and Bury this year.

Organisers plan to build up the number of participating Greater Manchester districts over the years to the Millennium.

Streets Ahead was well received by the Leisure Services Committee and Tonge ward Cllr Paul Perry hailed it as "ambitious and adventurous".

If the programme takes off in Bolton, a range of events can be expected to take place, focusing around the May Day Bank Holiday weekend.

A carnival afternoon will be held in the town centre, a high-energy spectacle featuring street artists offering a range of theatre, dance, music, circus tricks and magic.

Councillors felt that taking part in Streets Ahead would attract people of all ages to the town centre, assisting the regeneration of the borough and improving Bolton's image and the quality of life for its residents.

Streets Ahead will offer high profile events with mix of international and local artists.

The programme also involves an attempt to build the biggest ever samba band by the Millennium. This year 280 musicians performed.

It is estimated that staging the 1998 event will cost Bolton about £21,000 which the council is not able to provide.

So most of the cash will have to be raised by direct sponsorship and supported by partners of Bolton Council who share a stake in the town centre.

Funding will also be available from the Association for Business Sponsorship for the Arts.

Leisure Services Councillors have asked the Bolton Festival Committee about the possibility of running a 'pilot' event during the festival next year to give an understanding of how the 1998 event would be managed.

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