Building up to the return
Venue operators throughout England have welcomed the Government ’ s reopening roadmap , with many keen to get involved in the Events Research Programme and stage pilot events . Events bookings are increasing , and tickets are selling fast , but the reopening of venues will not be plain sailing for all .
Words : Christopher Barrett
In July last year , Manchester ’ s
Emirates Old Trafford ( EOT ), which has a 50,000 capacity for concerts and 26,000 for cricket , hosted the world ’ s first biosecure Test Match . Its operators then launched Safe in One Place – an initiative designed to share knowledge and Covid-safe events best practice with the industry .
EOT sales director Angela Hodson says the prime minister ’ s roadmap has sparked optimism throughout the industry and positive reaction from the venue ’ s clients : “ September onwards will be the period that hopefully events will bounce back , our diary is suggesting that will be the case . We ’ ve even had some clients move events from 2022 into 2021 , which is really positive .”
She says the venue is looking to host a pilot event in April and the aim from 17 May onwards is to host cricket matches with 25 % capacity crowds .
James Allen , general manager at the city ’ s AO Arena , says he is encouraged by how positively the prime minister ’ s roadmap announcement has impacted ticket sales : “ They increased significantly in the following week , with sellout shows including James and Happy Mondays , Little Mix , Queen + Adam Lambert and Celine Dion . After almost a year of pause , we are all looking forward to being able to press play and welcome fans and artists back to the venue .”
The announcement has also put a spring in the step of Ally Wolf , general manager of London venue The Clapham Grand ( 1,250 ). Last year , the venue received £ 300,000 from the Arts Council England-administered Culture Recovery Fund . Prior to that , in-house initiatives had raised more than £ 50,000 for it . In December , Wolf oversaw a programme of reducedcapacity shows at the venue .
“ For the first time since the pandemic started , we have a realistic roadmap , an opening timeline to work towards , after a marathon of uncertainty . It ’ s fantastic ,” he says .
Wolf does have concerns though , despite the Government ’ s extension of the furlough period and reduced VAT rate on tickets . He points out that 21 June is not the best time for indoor venues to reopen .
“ The return to full capacity date is at the beginning of the summer , which is a notoriously hard period for all indoor venues to trade at the best of times . If you combine that with us entering into it without having built up capital
“ For the first time since the pandemic started , we have a realistic roadmap , an opening timeline to work towards , after a marathon of uncertainty .”
Ally Wolf , The Clapham Grand
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