John Metcalfe, Isle of Wight Council's assistant director for economic development and tourism, told BBC News: "The festival is hugely important to the island, especially to Newport. We estimate it is worth at least £10m spent in the Newport shops, and that is just from people from off the island visiting for the festival. If we put on top of that the money spent by the organisers with island businesses and organisations it is worth at least £15m to the island's economy. It is a huge figure and in only eight years the event has changed how people see the island."
£15,000 bonus - The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2009 final has been won by Russian soprano Ekaterina Shcherbachenko. Speaking after the result was announced, the 32-year-old said it was the "happiest day" of her life. She beat four other finalists from Japan, Italy, Ukraine and the Czech Republic to win a trophy and £15,000. Shcherbachenko performed in French and Italian in a packed St David's Hall, before closing in English with Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress.
Blur's Return - Blur played their second show in three days with a 'secret' gig at a record shop in London. The band, who have reformed for a series of high profile gigs this summer including a headline appearance at Glastonbury Festival and two nights in London's Hyde Park, performed at the Rough Trade East record shop. Speaking from the stage, singer Damon Albarn said that playing smaller shows had been a helpful way to get ready for the bigger gigs this summer. He said: "We're only just getting started really but it's been a lot of fun so far."
Farewell - The record producer Ron Richards, who played a central part in the British "beat boom" of the 1960s, has died aged 80. He took charge of the Beatles' first recording session, discovered the Hollies and produced a string of hits for numerous other groups, including Gerry and the Pacemakers. After recording the Beatles' first hit, Love Me Do, he ceded charge of their recordings to George Martin, his boss at EMI Records, but remained involved in their career and took administrative responsibility for organising many of their studio sessions.
Richards was an astute businessman and it was at his instigation that in 1965 he and Martin, together with John Burgess of EMI and Peter Sullivan of Decca, set up the independent production company AIR, which then hired out the producers' services to EMI and other labels. It was at the time a radical move that broke with the long-standing practice of the big record companies working exclusively with in-house salaried "yes men".
(Jim Evans)
