THE organisation of next year's Okehampton Battle of the Bands competition is forging on, with a headline act and date booked for the Party in the Park finale.

The competition had been at risk of folding after organisers Chris Hodson and Ben Boulton, who had given countless hours of their own time to organise the contest, decided to step down. Their hope that people would come forward to take over the running of the event looked futile after an initial appeal proved unsuccessful.

But following a meeting in October, a new chairman and secretary were appointed, with more committee members joining in November.

The team has announced that the theme of the 2015 Party in the Park finale is 'Best of British', and in line with the theme have booked 'Who's Next', one of the UK's top The Who tribute bands. This also coincides with The Who's 50th anniversary in 2015.

The team has also secured all the technical services for the finale in terms of lighting and sound equipment, and are in the process of securing a surprise guest to host the show.

Former Battle of the Bands competitor Jay Hadland has been appointed as chairman. Jay, originally from Bristol but now a resident in Okehampton, reached the finals of last year's competition with his band The Copperfield Ensemble.

He has had years of experience producing and promoting bands, gigs and theatre shows across the South West.

He said: 'The organisation of next year's event is going well with the new committee meeting monthly to review progress.

'The challenge of maintaining such a high standard set by the previous organisers has been formidable but we believe next year's event will be something special.

'Although applications for the competition are not accepted until March we have already had huge interest from some fantastic bands from right across the South West, which shows just how far the Okehampton competition's reputation has grown.

'This year we are also going to encourage more traders to attend the Party in The Park with pitches available for £50. These can be secured by contacting us via e-mail.

'This is a great opportunity for local businesses to promote their products and services and will give the day a stronger community feel.

'We have began the process of contacting local firms, letters and e-mails have started to go out and we have already had confirmation of sponsorship from The Plymouth Inn, Jump on Us and The Rogues Gallery Vaudeville Tour company but we still need a lot more.

'We have secured a considerable grant from Okehampton United Charity, to whom we are very grateful.

'This has enabled us to guarantee next year's event will go ahead. We still need music or band related prizes for the final and we need more people to volunteer to help with stewarding on the day and the clean up after the event.

'We have a Paypal donation link on the website —http://www.okehamptonattleofthebands.org.uk">www.okehamptonattleofthebands.org.uk — where people can donate as little as £1, as I said, no donation is too small to help make this amazing event a success.

'People can also help by liking and sharing our Facebook page to raise awareness and keep up to date with the latest news and progress and by following us on Twitter - @BOTBoke'.

If you would like to get involved in any way, e-mai Jay on [email protected]">[email protected] or call 01837 658745.