A £50m ($63m/€59m) arts and innovation centre in Wales has sold more than 76,000 tickets in its first year.
Work on the Pontio centre at Bangor University began in 2012 and it finally opened last year after a delay which cost £1m.
Pontio’s operators said they had a successful first 12 months and told the Newyddion 9 programme on Welsh-language public-service television channel S4C that they sold about 35,000 tickets for live performances. They also attracted 39,000 visitors for the Pontio’s cinema and about 2,500 for conferences and other events.
The first major production to be staged at the theatre was Chwalfa, an adaptation of T Rowland Hughes’ novel about the Penrhyn quarry strike of 1900-03. It has also attracted high-profile comedy shows from the likes of Rich Hall and Russell Kane and performances by musicians such as Christy Moore, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Only Men Aloud.
Pontio’s artistic director Elen ap Robert said the figures do not include the many free events that have been held in the complex since it was first opened to the public.
“As a brand new venue, we’re committed to building long-lasting relationships with our audience, and so bringing young people in to have memorable experiences is very important to us,” she said in a statement.
“We’ve tried to offer as many opportunities as possible for young people to not only have a look around the centre or take part in a school or choral concert but to be part of professional production or workshops with artists.”
Share this