Gossip

Will West End Shut up Shop for Olympics???

| London | London's West End | Off-West End |

8 November 2011

Rumours have been circulating for some time that West End producers are considering closing their shows during the Olympics next summer, anticipating a slump in demand.

According to financial website This is Money, Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Really Useful Group (RUG) is among those considering closing its shows, including The Wizard of Oz, during the Games fortnight, which begins on 27 July 2012.

But a spokesman for RUG told Whatsonstage.com that the company couldn’t speak for shows that aren’t produced in house. “Our understanding, at this time, is that the theatre producers who rent our theatres intend to run their shows as normal during the Olympics,” he said.

Some productions are thought to be considering significant discounts during the Olympic period in an attempt to lure tourists. Jersey Boys has already confirmed it will charge £20.12 for all top-price tickets during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The drop in demand is caused mainly by the fact that, due to sharp rises in hotel and transport prices, ‘regular’ tourists tend to stay away from Olympic cities during the Games period.

John Wales, managing director of Encore Tickets, said: “We anticipate a significant decline in business in July and August 2012 for London theatres and attractions. At present I anticipate sales from tourists to be at least 40 per cent down on last year, so we are looking urgently at alternative customers to the traditional inbound visitor.”

And it’s not just the West End that could be affected. Concerns were raised at the Edinburgh Fringe AGM earlier this year that the Games will provide a “significant threat” to next year’s festival, which takes place between 3 and 27 August.