WEYMOUTH Pavilion's summer season has won 'momentous acclaim' for what has been hailed one of its best years ever.

After disappointment last year when the theatre made a small loss during the summer, ticket sales have gone through the roof and audiences are said to have taken to new features with enthusiasm.

Coun Brian Ellis of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said: "It's been a good turnaround this season. We made a small loss last year but this year we've sold another 4,000 tickets to Pavilion shows.

"The summer season has brought many people into Weymouth and Portland.

"Congratulations to the staff who were put in place to turn the Pavilion around as that is exactly what they've done."

Promotions and events officer for the Pavilion Steve Davies said that while last year's stars such as Frank Carson and Paul Daniels were popular with audiences, the amount of events the Pavilion held was limited.

He said: "Last year was successful for what it was, in that people enjoyed the shows, but there were lots of limitations. We didn't have the support we had this year from businesses and the town generally, or the relationship with the agents, or the new festivals and other things we had going for us this time.

"But this year has been one of the best yet. Theatre manager Simon King achieved this and the quality of entertainment has received momentous acclaim from critics and the public and people have voted with their feet.

"Simon put together a winning combination of top names such as Joe Pasquale and Duncan Norvelle and a host of local artistes who people flocked to see.

"There are certain things that have exceeded all expectations such as Wednesday Night Live which saw the Ocean Room packed to capacity every week with people wanting to see local talent.

"As well as that he had the courage to try completely new things such as three brand new festivals, all of which went down brilliantly, particularly the three-day Rock and Pop Festival.

"It's thanks to Simon's enthusiasm, imagination and vision that the summer has been such a good one."

And Mr Davies said there is more to come, adding: "The success of this summer is not going to be a one-off, there is now a solid base we can build on to make summer even bigger next year."