Organisers managed to pull just 238,000 visitors – blaming ‘politicisation’ of project
Organisers behind an event widely known as ‘The Festival of Brexit’ have bemoaned the “politicisatoon” of the project after it managed to pull just 238,000 visitors.
Unboxed – the government-sponsored, post-Brexit programme of arts events – had set a “stretch target” of 66 million attendees, meaning they hit just 0.36 per cent of their most hopeful target.
It was also more than four times the cost of the celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Unboxed, the arts festival dubbed the "festival of Brexit", has seen just 238k visitors — the initial target was 66m
It cost over 4x more than the Platinum Jubilee, while some participants demanded in their contracts that Brexit wouldn’t be mentioned https://t.co/lZcyMHwAzc
— Adam Payne (@adampayne26) August 31, 2022
The revelation comes in an investigation by The House magazine, published today.
Reacting on social media, Jo Maugham, Director of the Good Law Project, said the £504 spend for every visitor was “quite on brand” for Brexit, which has so far cost the UK billions of pounds in lost trade and tax revenues.
Festival of Brexit a spectacularly expensive flop at £504 for every visitor. Which is quite on brand, really. pic.twitter.com/up0T2kaQ0E
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) September 1, 2022
Unboxed organisers criticised the politicisation of the events, with director Martin Green saying had been “unfortunate” that the “Festival of Brexit” tag had stuck.
The Mail also reported that some staff “refused to take part” if the UK’s exit from the EU was mentioned, which seems to be a… questionable claim.
The Festival of Brexit's failure is of course the fault of Remainers.
It is always someone else's fault. Always. pic.twitter.com/Z5ahfwpdfa
— Roland Smith (@rolandmcs) September 1, 2022
Related links:
- Nigel Farage belts out National Anthem more passionately than ever ahead of KSI fight
- Man wakes up to Boris Johnson surrounded by police raiding his house
- Cyclists may have to get number plates under radical shake-up of road laws
