Cancelled gigs and concerts have cost the South West economy more than £7million since the coronavirus pandemic began, new research shows.
Statistics from global events platform Eventopedia show that Plymouth alone has lost more than £2.26million in 2020 due to its leading music and entertainment venues being closed.
Exeter’s economy stands to lose £2.961million, Bath will be short of £1.468million and Bristol will take a £2.297million hit. Cheltenham and Gloucester have lost out by a combined £334,000.
The figures are compiled by Eventopedia, which called them “devastating” for the UK's provincial cities which rely more on such income than does London.
It compiled the losses by looking at three major venues in each city and then worked out the amount that would have been spent from each cancelled show between March 2020 and March 2021.
Researchers studied the number of cancellations, the venues’ capacities, and the average cost of a pint, a meal in a restaurant and a parking space for four hours, to indicate an overall loss to the city from the cancelled events.
In Plymouth they focused on Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth Theatre Royal and The Junction, and found that 48 scrapped shows at the theatre would remove £1.268million from the city’s pocket, with every cancelled show meaning the city economy loses up to £26,421.
In addition, 10 scrubbed events at the Pavilions meant the city took a £875,000 hit, and 42 abandoned gigs at Mutley Plain’s The Junction meant the city lost £118,000.
In Exeter, 45 shows cancelled at Exeter Phoenix resulted in a £293,000 hit, but just two events called off at the 25,000-capacity Powderham Castle resulted in a £2.6million loss to the economy, one of the largest losses from a single venue nationwide.
Bristol’s O2 Academy would have pumped £1.38million into the city’s coffers, had Covid-19 not kiboshed shows, and the Fleece would have added £291,000 from 43 gigs.
The South West figures pale in comparison with England’s biggest cities, however, with Manchester, for example, losing a staggering £48.2million from the cancellation of shows at the likes of Manchester Academy, the AO Arena, and its two O2 venues.
St Mary’s Stadium, in Southampton, suffered the biggest loss for every cancelled event outside of London, with each cancellation costing the city economy up to an eye-watering £2.395million.
This was followed closely by the Ricoh Arena in Coventry at £1.498million, with the community surrounding Devon’s Powderham Castle, losing £1.3million for every show axed.
But, unsurprisingly, London was the biggest loser, with each cancelled event at Wembley Stadium alone, since March, being estimated to have cost the city up to £5.85million. Overall the capital stands to lose more than £1billion because of Covid-related reduction in events.
But Toby Heelis, Eventopedia chief executive, stressed that smaller cities benefit more proportionally than the capital from these types of events and, as such, the restrictions and shutdowns have had a devastating impact.
“As many businesses have had to pivot to new revenue streams to survive the lockdowns, these cities need more help from the central Government as we move forwards,” he said.
“The data here shows just how much the impact of these events filters down to all areas of the economy and community.
“When venues first closed, we needed more policies that contained the virus without the catastrophic impact to all people. Moving forwards, common sense and science should be used in equal measure to provide the right solution for everyone.”
Live music and music tourism contributes a significant amount of money to local economies across the country. In a 2016 UK Music report it was found that music tourism generated £3.7billion in total direct and indirect spend in the UK in 2015 alone.
