BRECON’S famous jazz festival needs a major overhaul if it is to survive, a report has recommended.

The event, which has attracted big names such as Van Morrison and showcased new stars including Jamie Cullum and Amy Winehouse, could be broadened to become a wider cultural event after it was concluded a "nationally significant" jazz festival isn’t viable.

Brecon Town Council commissioned the report a year ago when the company that had run the festival for the past four years pulled out – throwing the 2016 event into major doubt.

Eventually a smaller scale event, the Brecon Jazz Weekend, was staged this August while the festival’s longer term future remained uncertain.

The town council asked a music consultant to compile a report on the viability of a festival in Brecon.

That report has recommended either widening the appeal of the festival, and building on the support enjoyed by the Fringe Festival that runs parallel to it, in time to stage an event in August 2017 or focussing on music created "by and four young people".

The town council intends sharing the report with Powys County Council and other individuals and groups involved in the event and holding a meeting in January to consider the options.

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