Beyoncé agreed to sing at local UK carnival - but only for £50,000 fee Beyoncé was the only celebrity to show an interest and organisers received contact from one of her representatives stating she was free to attend the show on August 3. The unnamed aide wrote: "There is a possibility Beyoncé will be available and hopefully can attend your 'carnival' event on August 3. As you may know Beyoncé will be on a tour in the UK at the beginning of the year in which she will be appearing at a number of concerts. The singer, who is married to Jay-Z, the rapper, is due to headline this summer's V Festival, in front of 90,000 music fans over the weekend of August 17-18. She will perform at the twin-site event, at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, Essex and Weston Park in Staffordshire, along with Kings Of Leon and double Brit-winner Emeli Sande. The singer, known for hits including Crazy In Love and Single Ladies, will have also ready performed a series of concerts during her British The Mrs. Carter Show tour in April and May. But organisers of the carnival, located just 10 miles down the road from the V-Festival's Essex venue, had their initial excitement at a coup signing, quickly dashed. Following meetings with another Beyoncé representative in Chelmsford a few weeks ago, it became clear the committee could not afford a £50,000 appearance fee. In a further email, they wrote: "After our conversation it is apparent there is some miscommunication. Beyoncé will require an appearance fee to attend your carnival. 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. Today Rob Slight, a spokesman for the association, said while they were disappointed that Beyoncé eventually declined, he said the new committee wanted to improve the carnival with a celebrity appearance. He said: "In the old days, I got the impression celebrities open it all up. We are really trying to build it up and make it bigger and better than ever before. 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. A week of events culminates in the procession with carnival queens from other towns, live music, majorettes and decorated floats. Attractions include spot the stranger, baby competition, bingo and children's entertainment. The singer provoked controversy last month after admitting that she mimed along to a pre-recorded track when she performed the national anthem on Inauguration Day. Earlier this month her publicist also made headlines when she asked news websites to take down photos from Beyonce's Superbowl performance after deeming them "unflattering." A spokesman for Beyoncé was unavailable for comment today.