Brexit Festival Falls Spectacularly Short Of Target Of 66 Million Visitors

Organizers of Unboxed – the government-funded post-Brexit arts events program – had set an “expansion target” of 66 million attendees. But government figures for four Unboxed events show a total of 238,000 people taking part, according to The House magazine – just 0.36 per cent of the more hopeful target. In a scathing report earlier this year, MPs on the culture, media and sport committee warned the festival was a waste of money – saying the government’s handling of the project was a “recipe for failure”. Organizers of Unboxed have now criticized the politicization of the event, with director Martin Green saying it was “unfortunate” to be labeled a “Brexit festival”. Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg called it a ‘Brexit celebration’, after an earlier version of its branding was known as ‘Festival UK* 2022’. Mr Green told The House: “We all have to learn from this. Rule one of the most important facts: don’t politicize them. And unfortunately few chose to politicize it from the beginning.” When asked to run the festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Green said he asked: “Can I make sure it’s not a Brexit festival? Don’t you want some kind of jingoistic jamboree?’ The manager said he was sure it wouldn’t be. Some attendees at the Unboxed event were said to have insisted that Brexit was not mentioned in their contracts. A spokesman for Unboxed said: “There are absolutely no references to Brexit in the Full Commission Agreements with the 10 projects.” The Unboxed events, scheduled to run from March to October this year, included the ‘About Us’ lights and ‘Our Place in Space’ walking trails. A spokesperson for Unboxed said they were “pleased with how the audience engaged”. In March, MPs criticized the project’s framework, which culture officials described as including “something for everyone” – despite being advised that it should not “be all things to all people”. They were also concerned that very few people knew the event was happening or what it involved, with its purpose remaining “unclear”. The festival figures come as former Brexit secretary David Frost revealed he had held talks with Conservative party unions about his election as an MP. Lord Frost, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government late last year, admitted he was “ambivalent” about being given a seat in the House of Lords. “If you’re going to be in politics where you actually have your finger on the buttons of power, then you should really be elected,” he told the House.

title: " Brexit Festival Falls Spectacularly Short Of Target Of 66 Million Visitors Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Barry Cornell”

Organizers of Unboxed – the government-funded post-Brexit arts events program – had set an “expansion target” of 66 million attendees. But government figures for four Unboxed events show a total of 238,000 people taking part, according to The House magazine – just 0.36 per cent of the more hopeful target. In a scathing report earlier this year, MPs on the culture, media and sport committee warned the festival was a waste of money – saying the government’s handling of the project was a “recipe for failure”. Organizers of Unboxed have now criticized the politicization of the event, with director Martin Green saying it was “unfortunate” to be labeled a “Brexit festival”. Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg called it a ‘Brexit celebration’, after an earlier version of its branding was known as ‘Festival UK* 2022’. Mr Green told The House: “We all have to learn from this. Rule one of the most important facts: don’t politicize them. And unfortunately few chose to politicize it from the beginning.” When asked to run the festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Green said he asked: “Can I make sure it’s not a Brexit festival? Don’t you want some kind of jingoistic jamboree?’ The manager said he was sure it wouldn’t be. Some attendees at the Unboxed event were said to have insisted that Brexit was not mentioned in their contracts. A spokesman for Unboxed said: “There are absolutely no references to Brexit in the Full Commission Agreements with the 10 projects.” The Unboxed events, scheduled to run from March to October this year, included the ‘About Us’ lights and ‘Our Place in Space’ walking trails. A spokesperson for Unboxed said they were “pleased with how the audience engaged”. In March, MPs criticized the project’s framework, which culture officials described as including “something for everyone” – despite being advised that it should not “be all things to all people”. They were also concerned that very few people knew the event was happening or what it involved, with its purpose remaining “unclear”. The festival figures come as former Brexit secretary David Frost revealed he had held talks with Conservative party unions about his election as an MP. Lord Frost, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government late last year, admitted he was “ambivalent” about being given a seat in the House of Lords. “If you’re going to be in politics where you actually have your finger on the buttons of power, then you should really be elected,” he told the House.

title: " Brexit Festival Falls Spectacularly Short Of Target Of 66 Million Visitors Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Marcus Clifton”

Organizers of Unboxed – the government-funded post-Brexit arts events program – had set an “expansion target” of 66 million attendees. But government figures for four Unboxed events show a total of 238,000 people taking part, according to The House magazine – just 0.36 per cent of the more hopeful target. In a scathing report earlier this year, MPs on the culture, media and sport committee warned the festival was a waste of money – saying the government’s handling of the project was a “recipe for failure”. Organizers of Unboxed have now criticized the politicization of the event, with director Martin Green saying it was “unfortunate” to be labeled a “Brexit festival”. Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg called it a ‘Brexit celebration’, after an earlier version of its branding was known as ‘Festival UK* 2022’. Mr Green told The House: “We all have to learn from this. Rule one of the most important facts: don’t politicize them. And unfortunately few chose to politicize it from the beginning.” When asked to run the festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Green said he asked: “Can I make sure it’s not a Brexit festival? Don’t you want some kind of jingoistic jamboree?’ The manager said he was sure it wouldn’t be. Some attendees at the Unboxed event were said to have insisted that Brexit was not mentioned in their contracts. A spokesman for Unboxed said: “There are absolutely no references to Brexit in the Full Commission Agreements with the 10 projects.” The Unboxed events, scheduled to run from March to October this year, included the ‘About Us’ lights and ‘Our Place in Space’ walking trails. A spokesperson for Unboxed said they were “pleased with how the audience engaged”. In March, MPs criticized the project’s framework, which culture officials described as including “something for everyone” – despite being advised that it should not “be all things to all people”. They were also concerned that very few people knew the event was happening or what it involved, with its purpose remaining “unclear”. The festival figures come as former Brexit secretary David Frost revealed he had held talks with Conservative party unions about his election as an MP. Lord Frost, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government late last year, admitted he was “ambivalent” about being given a seat in the House of Lords. “If you’re going to be in politics where you actually have your finger on the buttons of power, then you should really be elected,” he told the House.

title: " Brexit Festival Falls Spectacularly Short Of Target Of 66 Million Visitors Klmat" ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Albert Hays”

Organizers of Unboxed – the government-funded post-Brexit arts events program – had set an “expansion target” of 66 million attendees. But government figures for four Unboxed events show a total of 238,000 people taking part, according to The House magazine – just 0.36 per cent of the more hopeful target. In a scathing report earlier this year, MPs on the culture, media and sport committee warned the festival was a waste of money – saying the government’s handling of the project was a “recipe for failure”. Organizers of Unboxed have now criticized the politicization of the event, with director Martin Green saying it was “unfortunate” to be labeled a “Brexit festival”. Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg called it a ‘Brexit celebration’, after an earlier version of its branding was known as ‘Festival UK* 2022’. Mr Green told The House: “We all have to learn from this. Rule one of the most important facts: don’t politicize them. And unfortunately few chose to politicize it from the beginning.” When asked to run the festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Green said he asked: “Can I make sure it’s not a Brexit festival? Don’t you want some kind of jingoistic jamboree?’ The manager said he was sure it wouldn’t be. Some attendees at the Unboxed event were said to have insisted that Brexit was not mentioned in their contracts. A spokesman for Unboxed said: “There are absolutely no references to Brexit in the Full Commission Agreements with the 10 projects.” The Unboxed events, scheduled to run from March to October this year, included the ‘About Us’ lights and ‘Our Place in Space’ walking trails. A spokesperson for Unboxed said they were “pleased with how the audience engaged”. In March, MPs criticized the project’s framework, which culture officials described as including “something for everyone” – despite being advised that it should not “be all things to all people”. They were also concerned that very few people knew the event was happening or what it involved, with its purpose remaining “unclear”. The festival figures come as former Brexit secretary David Frost revealed he had held talks with Conservative party unions about his election as an MP. Lord Frost, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government late last year, admitted he was “ambivalent” about being given a seat in the House of Lords. “If you’re going to be in politics where you actually have your finger on the buttons of power, then you should really be elected,” he told the House.