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By Ben King, 3 May 2002 12:30

NEWS Ten thousand Vodafone employees are getting ready for another of the company's record-breaking lavish summer parties - as its share price languishes at a four-year low. Kylie Minogue and Pop Idols Gareth Gates and Will Young are among the acts rumoured to be appearing at the 11 May event, which has previously hosted stars such as Hear'Say, Steps, Ronan Keating, The Corrs, Bjorn Again, the Bootleg Beatles and Culture Club. The company's two previous dinners both made the Guinness Book of Records. At last year's event, 11,483 staff and partners sat down to the largest silver-service dinner in history, at an estimated cost of £500,000. However, the company has little to celebrate as the share price is at its lowest level since early in 1998. The shares, which once traded as high as 400p, were within a whisker of 100p following a succession of bad news, and growing doubts that the company can deliver sufficient revenue growth to justify its current share price. The company announced 600 UK job cuts in October last year and positions have also been cut at the company's overseas operations, including Australia, Japan, Germany and Spain. For this year's event, the company is constructing a purpose-built dome at Newbury racecourse, near its corporate headquarters. The party will be open to all Vodafone staff and their partners, from call centre workers to chief executive Chris Gent. Those wishing to attend pay a nominal fee in the region of £10, though the party is heavily subsidised by the company. Defending the party, Vodafone group corporate affairs director Tim Brown said: "I would like to think that our shareholders would applaud our efforts to motivate staff and the budget for this entertainment is by no means excessive."