Theatre bosses are pledging to make a cabaret big top the highlight of the summer arts festival, with the return of a host of curious attractions.

Organisers have told fans of the Famous Spiegeltent that they are working hard to ensure the travelling venue is a feature at next year's Brighton Festival as talks continue between owner David Bates and bosses at the separate Komedia theatre, in Gardner Street, Brighton.

Komedia staff expect the popular tent to be included in next year's line-up, claiming negotiations are already under way to cement strong acts.

Colin Granger, Komedia's managing director, said: "We are confident the Spiegeltent will be available at next year's event and we hope it will be the highlight of the 2005 Festival Fringe.

"The acts at Spiegeltent will be in a similar vein to last year and we will be showing organisers what we are programming and vice versa to make sure the events do not clash and everyone gets the audiences."

Brighton Festival organisers have applied for the return of the Spiegeltent, submitting paperwork for a public entertainment licence to Brighton and Hove City Council on Tuesday.

The application includes details of the dates and opening hours of the venue and information about cabaret, comedy and musical performances, which will take place during the festival in May.

The Brighton Festival team said the licence for the Belgian-built Twenties tent can be transferred to bosses at Komedia as soon as the final line-up has been confirmed.

Festival head Jane McMorrow said: "We are happy negotiations are going on between Komedia and Spiegeltent if it means the venue can come back next year."

Reassurances about the return of the Spiegeltent follow the decision by Komedia bosses to lodge a formal complaint with the city council about the impact of the festival venue on their business.

But following comments from artists who appeared in the venue at the recent festival, Komedia have tried to guarantee crowd-pleasing acts at both the Spiegeltent and their own theatre.

Mr Granger said: "We have reached a constructive agreement with Brighton Festival to work together with the Spiegeltent to ensure there will be no clashes in next year's festival programme.

"We look forward to a highly-successful festival for all venues in the city."