Apollo Leisure Explains Problem with Open Air Theatre
The operators of Scarborough's Open Air Theatre have made the headlines again by admitting they have problems filling the theatre on show nights. The one and only, Sir Elton John, being the only act to be a sell out. Is that such a surprise, when you consider he is a huge star and people will pay through the nose to see him perform live.
A few of my friends went to see Sir Elton John and said it was an amazing night in an amazing venue, so what has happened?
In the article in Scarborough's Evening News, Paul Gregg, the Chairman of Apollo Leisure says
"We’ve held a variety of concerts and events, some of which have been
hugely successful and some of which have been disappointing in terms of
crowd numbers. Finding the right audience for the right event has been
the most difficult challenge because the content has always been good."
The content may be have been good but most of it has only appealed to certain people. Surely more mainstream acts are needed to attract the attention of Scarborough people.
One of the main obstacles I see in the way of the Open Air Theatre being more of a success is it's location. Scarborough is out on a limb with sea on one side and miles of countryside on the other. Ideal for tourists but not for venues trying to market top class acts, as the local population will never have enough fans of any one type of act. People will be willing to travel the distance required to see the likes of Sir Elton John but not for the lesser known niche acts like N-Dubz.
I think Apollo needs to look at the type of visitors Scarborough gets during the Summer season and market their events around this information. To me it seems pointless booking an opera singer when most of the visitors in the town at that time are parents with young children. Come to think of it are children even included as a target market? Daytime shows for children surely would bring in some revenue.
It's easy for an operator to blame the local people for not being interested but people like what they like and I feel most Scarborough people like the idea of the Open Air Theatre but the right act has not been there yet.
I'm hoping the venue re-opens with a number of great acts, but at the moment, don't think that looks promising.
