In sad news for our UK brethren, the four day Beachdown Festival was cancelled on the eve of its epic kick-off, becoming another victim of the inescapable economic downturn.

Despite putting together a very tasty looking lineup with the likes of dance luminaries likes of Laurent Garnier, Grace Jones and Derrick May alongside hip-hop stars like Grandmaster Flash and rockers Ida Maria and Super Furry Animals, festival organizers for Beachdown couldn’t shake off the recent credit crunch on punters’ wallets, blaming “slower than forecast ticket-sales and lack of support at a critical time from our bank and certain suppliers” leaving them with no choice but to call the festival off at the last minute.

“Very simply we were unable to meet the demands that the current economic climate put against us,” Beachdown’s directors said in an official statement. “We wish to say at this time how desperately sorry we are to all those who have bought tickets or were participating in the event and to say that we all here are personally shattered especially after eleven months of battling against the recession to try and put this event on and coming so close,” they added.

“We also wish to advise everyone that we explored every possible avenue to finance the event including re-mortgaging our houses to combat the unwillingness of banks to support us,” the downtrodden statement read.

The closure came just two weeks after boutique festival Bloom also cancelled at the 11th hour, with an announcement in which they ironically offered ticket holders transferable passes to Beachdown. Bloom organizer Olivia Chapman also spoke of being struck by the credit crunch, saying they had put their ‘heart and souls’ into the event.

“We have worked tirelessly for the best part of nine months on this event which makes it very hard for us to walk away from it,” she said. “However we have to think of the bigger picture and feel that we are making the right decision”.

Here at home we’re of course no strangers to having our precious festivals pack in on us, what with the announcement that G-abusers had scared off the mighty Trance Energy festival and also that Global Gathering wouldn’t be returning in 2009. We’ve got our fingers crossed that the rest of our summer favourites stay in tact!