Domain carollers set to pay the price of rising concert costs

IT HAS been free for three decades but next year audiences may have to pay to attend Carols in the Domain, thanks to the soaring costs of staging one of Australia's largest free public concerts.

In a bid to keep it free, the organiser, TV production company activeTV, searched for a cheaper location, and sought government funding and extra sponsors for the concert, which attracts more than 40,000 people every year.

The company lost money on the $1.5 million budgeted event last year and the same is set to happen this year, according to the activeTV general manager, Kay Lawrence.

''We run at a loss,'' Ms Lawrence said. ''Costs are rising much faster than sponsorship is growing. It is just not sustainable.''

If ticketing was introduced, safety considerations could restrict numbers to 25,000.      More