Brecon Jazz receivership: official statement
Organisers of the Brecon Jazz Festival have confirmed that they have called in the receivers - here is their official statement:
"The Board of Brecon International Festival of Jazz Limited announces with regret that it has requested Vaughan Jones, Insolvency Practitioner of BN Jackson Norton, to assist in winding up the affairs of the Company.
"This year’s Festival, the twenty-fifth, was generally regarded as an artistic success but resulted in a substantial financial loss. Although pre-Festival ticket sales were good, the bad weather during the Festival resulted in poor sales over the weekend. In turn this affected income from camping, stall fees and merchandising. A number of promised sponsorships and grants did not materialise and broadcasting and advertising income was lower than planned.
"Serious staffing difficulties caused major additional costs in the administration of the Festival on top of the heavy cost of street cleaning, security and policing (which increased by 36% over the previous year). The last minute withdrawal of the Castle Hotel, for many years a key uncharged venue for Festival events, gave rise to unplanned marquee and site costs. The sad death of a headline artist, Esbjorn Svensson, only weeks before the Festival resulted in refunds, incurred extra costs and left a serious hole in the programme.
"It is on the record that the Festival, like some others, was bearing a deficit from previous years which it had started to reduce. However, this year’s loss plus the existing deficit combined to make the Company’s financial position untenable.
"Neither the Arts Council of Wales nor the Welsh Assembly Government are able to offer assistance to the Company and it therefore appears that the survival of the Brecon Jazz Festival is in serious doubt. The failure of the Festival would be a huge disappointment to the many thousands of jazz fans and artists for whom Brecon is an annual August pilgimage. The gross economic impact on the local community, which this year was estimated to be over £4 million, would also be lost.
"John Payne, Chairman of the Board, commented: 'The Festival, which was voted Best Major Event in Wales, 2007 at the National Tourism Awards, has been an important part of the Welsh cultural landscape for the last twenty-five years and its possible demise is a matter of concern to the community at large."
"The Board of Brecon International Festival of Jazz Limited announces with regret that it has requested Vaughan Jones, Insolvency Practitioner of BN Jackson Norton, to assist in winding up the affairs of the Company.
"This year’s Festival, the twenty-fifth, was generally regarded as an artistic success but resulted in a substantial financial loss. Although pre-Festival ticket sales were good, the bad weather during the Festival resulted in poor sales over the weekend. In turn this affected income from camping, stall fees and merchandising. A number of promised sponsorships and grants did not materialise and broadcasting and advertising income was lower than planned.
"Serious staffing difficulties caused major additional costs in the administration of the Festival on top of the heavy cost of street cleaning, security and policing (which increased by 36% over the previous year). The last minute withdrawal of the Castle Hotel, for many years a key uncharged venue for Festival events, gave rise to unplanned marquee and site costs. The sad death of a headline artist, Esbjorn Svensson, only weeks before the Festival resulted in refunds, incurred extra costs and left a serious hole in the programme.
"It is on the record that the Festival, like some others, was bearing a deficit from previous years which it had started to reduce. However, this year’s loss plus the existing deficit combined to make the Company’s financial position untenable.
"Neither the Arts Council of Wales nor the Welsh Assembly Government are able to offer assistance to the Company and it therefore appears that the survival of the Brecon Jazz Festival is in serious doubt. The failure of the Festival would be a huge disappointment to the many thousands of jazz fans and artists for whom Brecon is an annual August pilgimage. The gross economic impact on the local community, which this year was estimated to be over £4 million, would also be lost.
"John Payne, Chairman of the Board, commented: 'The Festival, which was voted Best Major Event in Wales, 2007 at the National Tourism Awards, has been an important part of the Welsh cultural landscape for the last twenty-five years and its possible demise is a matter of concern to the community at large."
posted by Andy Roberts @ 10:05 am
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