DARWEN Live has been nominated in three categories in the UK Festival Awards.

Now organisers are urging the people of East Lancashire to vote for them to see if they can pull off a major coup.

The two-day free event, held in Darwen town centre over the May Bank Holiday, has been nominated in the best small festival, best metropolitan festival and best grassroots festival categories.

Festival programmer Darren James said: “We are absolutely delighted and slightly shocked to be nominated for three categories. Now we just hope people will get behind us and vote for us.”

This year’s event featured the Lancashire Hotpots, Paul Young and Grace Davies.

Over 35,000 people visited the main festival arena during the course of the two days.

"Darwen Live has become a major event for Darwen and for East Lancashire as a whole," said Darren.

"We sent off all the details about this year's events to the awards organisers hoping we might get nominated for best small festival. To discover they have shortlisted us in three categories was a major surprise.

"Just to finish in the top 10 in a category would be a major achievement especially given that it is such a small team that puts the festival on."

Organisers are currently working hard trying to attract sponsor for the 2019 event.

"Hopefully these nominations will help raise the profile of the festival even more," said Darren.

The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony in London in December.

To vote visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NW3CN6N