A series of live events featuring the sacked Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson will go ahead without the show’s branding, the BBC announced on Tuesday.
The worldwide tour, previously known as Top Gear Live and fronted by Clarkson alongside co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, will be renamed Clarkson, Hammond and May Live. The shows have been stripped of Top Gear and BBC branding.
The tour had been in doubt in the wake of the BBC’s decision to sack Clarkson after he punched a producer in a row about catering after a day of location filming.
“So as not to disappoint the thousands of people around the world who have already purchased tickets, BBC Worldwide has agreed with our joint venture partner Brand Events that the remainder of the tour can continue,” a spokesman said in a statement posted on the Top Gear website.
“These events will not, however, feature any BBC Top Gear branding or content. We believe this is a sensible approach in the circumstances.”
In the aftermath of the Clarkson revelations, two dates of the tour in Stavanger, Norway, due to take place last weekend, were postponed. These have been rescheduled to June.
A Top Gear festival due to take place at the Motorsport Park in Sydney, Australia on 18 and 19 April will be re-staged as an indoor arena show, in Melbourne on 18 and 19 July, and Sydney on 25 and 26 July.
Top Gear Live was born out of an existing tour, called MPH, which was fronted by Clarkson, May and Hammond for a number of years. MPH was originally run independently of the BBC and was owned and operated by Brand Events.
Top Gear Live makes more than £11m in revenues annually and this year’s global tour is understood to have sold more than 100,000 tickets.
