Beacon of hope in Bristol

By Nicky Godding

12 March 2024

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Bristol Beacon

Three months after reopening tafter a multi-million-pound investment, Bristol Beacon is celebrating remarkable results. Since reopening, it has seen a 30% surge in ticket sales for its opening months of December, January and February*. Over 97,000 tickets have been purchased in that time for forthcoming shows.

In its first 100 days, the venue has welcomed in 100,000 visitors, staged 75 concerts, three world premieres, 14 comedy gigs, three family shows and two festivals.

Among the star-studded line up of performers that have so far graced the new stages are renowned artists including viral sensation of the moment Sophie Ellis Bextor, recent number one selling artist Jools Holland, indie icons Bombay Bicycle Club and Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara.

In addition to the shows, over 2,300 children and young people have been making the most of the new spaces to practice or perform, including Bristol Youth Choir, who performed as part of the choral premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Odyssey alongside Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and City of Bristol Choir.

Louise Mitchell, chief executive, Bristol Beacon, said: “We are thrilled by the response and success we’ve experienced since reopening Bristol Beacon. The remarkable increase in ticket sales and huge numbers of people through the doors is a heartening reminder that we are wanted and needed by our artists, audiences and communities, who are coming back to experience live music with us now that we’re open again. It’s fantastic to see our building back in use as it was intended and we look forward to continuing to delight audiences and fostering shared and memorable experiences for years to come.”

Beyond the success of its events programme and reopening, as a music charity Bristol Beacon has also been recognised with a number of national awards for its dedication to music as a tool for social change and impact. This includes the Rocksteady Award for Progressive and Inclusive Music Education at the Music and Drama Awards, in recognition of its HOPE Creative programme, which supports care experienced children, care leavers and young carers to express themselves through creative activity. The charity has also been announced as a Youth Music IDEA Champion 2024 after completing a 12-month Inclusion Diversity Equity and Access (IDEA) learning programme to improve its practices and commit to long-term change.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.