Beyonce 'accepts town carnival invite'

An audacious bid to invite Beyonce to be the star guest at an Essex town's summer carnival nearly paid off.

Organisers of the Maldon Carnival were amazed when the pop star agreed to appear - but only for a £50,000 fee.

As well as Beyonce, organisers had approached Britney Spears, Rod Stewart, Will I Am, Jessie J, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Rita Ora and the Queen.

They were shocked to receive a reply from Beyonce's representatives stating she was free to attend the show in August.

An unnamed aide wrote: "There is a possibility Beyonce will be available and hopefully can attend your carnival event on August 3."

But organisers of the carnival, just 10 miles down the road from one of the venues of the V-Festival, which Beyonce is to headline, had their excitement quickly dashed.

Following meetings with another Beyonce representative in Chelmsford, it became clear the committee could not afford the £50,000 appearance fee.

In a further email, they wrote: "Regrettably, neither the artist nor the promoter will be able to incur the cost of appearance.

"It is unlikely your carnival will be able to attract the audience required or have the necessary experience to handle such a large event."

Rob Slight, a spokesman for the association, said they were disappointed that Beyonce had eventually declined but still hoped to aattract a big name.

"I think the carnival is so old fashioned. We want to keep it traditional but it needs to be modernised to attract the younger generation," he said.