WINTER | OPINION
Creating financial and social benefits
Tickets For Good is a platform that provides free and heavily discounted tickets for major live events to NHS , charity sector workers and recipients of Cost of Living benefits . Founder and CEO Stephen Rimmer outlines how the initiative benefits both the industry and show attendees
Two decades in the events industry and charity sector has provided me with a deep understanding of the economic and social advantages inherent in these fields . When I first delved into ticketing around a decade ago , I quickly saw that traditional models could be adapted , creating increased revenue for promoters and social value for charity partners .
A recent study from the DCMS has shown that regular sporting event attendance is equal to employment in regard to tackling feelings of loneliness and life satisfaction . This is one of many studies that confirm something we all feel in the industry , that event participation has intrinsic social value .
When considering the economic value of the sector , the UK sits at the nexus of the worldwide events industry and is worth at least £ 42 billion . Despite this huge impact and the less tangible but equally important cultural value we produce , we are still looking at an industry in crisis . 2022 / 23 produced the biggest drop in living standards since records began , with reduced spending power being a huge factor in declining revenue .
We ’ re now faced with a situation in
Stephen Rimmer
which venues , promoters and event organisers are faced with rising costs and an audience with less disposable income than ever . Young people are especially vulnerable to this and we ’ re also seeing a new generation of adults who missed out on events during their formative , late teenage years . It was this issue that led the AIF to launch their ‘ First Festival ’ campaign over the summer , powered by Tickets for Good , which gave festival tickets to 18 yearolds for £ 18 .
People with limited disposable income often stick to familiar , reliable
entertainment rather than exploring new options , this impacts middle and grassroots events . Despite occasional attendance at major events , financial constraints pose a significant barrier to attendance . Our mission is to encourage people to discover local gems and midweek favourites , fostering habits of family event attendance .
This is why Tickets for Good aims to help tackle both the social need for events and the economic constraints of the industry through our key aims of filling venues , increasing revenues and growing audiences .
This September we launched our ‘ Ticket Bank ’ platform . This project gives face-value free and heavily discounted tickets to anyone in receipt of a UK Government Cost of Living payment . This was driven by the huge success of our NHS and subsequent charity staff platforms which has led to over 265,000 registered users .
With around three million charity and NHS workers in total , and more than eight million families receiving cost of living payments there ’ s still many people yet to access the benefits of what we do . We ’ re determined to reach these people !
We ’ re also immensely proud to have saved our members over £ 10 million in face value ticket costs and vitally , we have done this in a way that also provides value to our event partners . We help event organisers increase their onsite revenue , develop new audiences , create long-lasting goodwill and genuine social impact . Our recent addition to the SportsTech Accelerator programme from Comcast NBCUniversal is aiding us
“ Our mission is to encourage people to discover local gems and midweek favourites .”
to also explore the US market , where the events industry is facing similar challenges to the UK .
Although many barriers to event attendance are still very much at the forefront of audiences ’ decisionmaking , I ’ m upbeat for the future . More than ever , there is a conversation about these issues and we feel able to offer some solutions .
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