24
Jun
Bootleg Beatles’ cancellation prompts Royal Hall rethink
North Yorkshire Council has said it will consider letting more artists book Harrogate’s Royal Hall at a reduced rate after the Bootleg Beatles cancelled their annual gig due to increased costs.
The Fab Four tribute act said last week it would not be returning to the historic Harrogate venue in the foreseeable future “due to the local council’s decision to hugely increase rental fees with no notice”.
The group will perform at the York Barbican on December 6 instead.
The announcement came after the council, which took control of the Royal Hall from Harrogate Borough Council last year, hiked up the costs of hiring the hall.
Under new arrangements announced in January, the council said it was taking over programming of events at Harrogate Convention Centre and the Royal Hall from Harrogate Theatre.
The news came as a major financial blow to the theatre, which subsequently said it was “working with its board of directors and other funding partners to explore alternative financial models”.
Under the old arrangement, the theatre could book up to 33 events a year at a reduced rate, which the council said amounted to a £345,000 subsidy to the theatre in addition to the £2.7 million of taxpayers' money that props up the loss-making convention centre.
The council said in January it would honour the old arrangements for 2024/25, under which the theatre had booked 33 events at the Royal Hall, but any further bookings — which appears to have included the Bootleg Beatles — would fall outside this agreement.
The Stray Ferret approached the council after the Bootleg Beatles' cancellation last week.
It has now indicated it is open to allowing the theatre to continue to book more acts this financial year until the new arrangement is fully implemented.
Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director for community development, said:
The Royal Hall is managed as part of the Harrogate Convention Centre complex, including the booking of the hall for commercial entertainment events.
As part of that arrangement, Harrogate Theatre has an agreement to book 33 events at the Royal Hall at a much reduced fee. Once that cap is reached, bookings will be charged at a commercial rate.
The council subsidises the convention centre’s operation with about £2.7 million per year. During the 2023/24 financial year, the centre hosted 69 Harrogate Theatre events, equating to about £345,000 of that council subsidy.
We are currently reviewing our wider cultural grant and subsidy arrangements at venues across the county to ensure they provide value for money – and that includes the arrangement with the theatre.
However, as Harrogate Theatre has now reached the cap of 33 events, and because the culture review will not be completed until next year, we have agreed to look to extend that agreement further and allow for further events under the reduced fee.
How long the agreement will be extended for has not been revealed.
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