House of Commons - Culture, Media and Sport

Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Sixth Report

IV. AT GREENWICH

32. The success of the transport strategy is intimately connected to the New Millennium Experience Company's ticketing policy. The aim of that policy is to ensure that all tickets are bookable in advance, that pricing options provide a range of discounts and that the arrangements for marketing and release of tickets will positively influence the mode of travel and visitor numbers. Tickets will be available through Lottery terminals and a Call-centre. Travel information will be provided with tickets and, through the Call-centre, travel tickets can be issued at the same time.[82]

33. A proportion of tickets will be sold to transport operators and the travel trade. The Company has been in discussion with the train operating companies and the majority of major coach companies, as well as package tour operators.[83] Up to 150 coaches are expected for each session at the Dome; the coaches will require a pre-booked ticket and will need to ensure in turn that their passengers have tickets for the Dome.[84] Mr Ayling thought that the power of the Dome as an attraction would put the Company in a good position to negotiate competitive transport packages with operators.[85] Mr Mandelson considered that transport operators would be "falling over themselves to provide the discounted fares and the proper integration with the ticketing arrangements because they want people to travel with them".[86] Ms Page assured us that the Company was willing to use the "muscle" which the Company had through the Dome in its negotiations with the travel trade.[87]

34. The Company has not yet set the final ticket prices, either for the travel trade or for direct purchasers. In doing so, it will bear in mind what it considers the market rate for other attractions, which in some cases is in the region of £15-£20. Mr Ayling assured us that, in setting the price, the Company would bear in mind that it was not an organisation seeking to maximise its profits.[88] Mr Mandelson also said that he wished to be satisfied that "it will be possible for every single person in this country who wishes to to get there simply and at an affordable price".[89] The pricing structure will include discounts for families, schoolchildren, students, senior citizens and groups and the family ticket will be linked to existing family travel cards.[90] Mr Ayling indicated that the price was also likely to vary according to the time of year, reflecting the likely heightened demand during school holidays.[91]

35. The Company, deploying a monopoly product, should use its bargaining position in its negotiations with travel operators. We expect the Company to deploy this strength to minimise the overall cost of transport packages and, where appropriate, travel and accommodation packages, rather than to maximise the ticket price. The Company should also take care not to commit too high a proportion of tickets to the transport and travel trades, both to strengthen further its hand and to ensure that tickets remain readily available to the public for direct purchase at face value. Finally, we recommend that the Company give specific consideration to the negotiation and marketing of transport packages to the Dome from specific parts of the United Kingdom on particular days, including such packages linked to displays of "Our Town Story" from a relevant region.

The Dome fringe

36. Although a strict ticket-only policy is being adopted for the Dome site, it is inevitable that many, possibly very many, visitors will turn up at the Greenwich Dome Underground station without tickets for the Experience because of the lure of the Dome. They may cause congestion and perhaps confusion and, therefore, it is very important that plans be worked out to accommodate and deal with them whether or not they intend to purchase tickets. From the opening of the Greenwich Dome station next Spring, it is likely that very large numbers of sightseers will travel to look at the Dome and that number will increase, probably very substantially, when the Dome is open. We recommend that the New Millennium Experience Company and Greenwich Borough Council work together to devise a strategy on this issue as a matter of urgency. We shall be returning to it in some detail in our next inquiry.

Content of the Dome

37. The marketing and pricing of tickets ought to become a less demanding task as enthusiasm about the content of the Dome develops. Such enthusiasm has not so far been generated. The Dome itself was described by us in our previous Report as "magnificent in conception and likely to be breath-taking in execution".[92] After our most recent visit to the site following completion of the skin of the roof we feel reinforced in our positive assessment of the Dome as a structure. Last year, we were less confident about the development of the content of the Dome, in part due to the limited information available.[93]

38. Since then, an outline of the Dome's contents has begun to emerge. Illustrative models of a majority of the fourteen Zones which will make up the Experience were displayed at a launch in February, which included a presentation to this Committee. The Company's memorandum sets out the varying states of development of the different Zones.[94] Some early ideas have fallen by the wayside. The central "auditorium" for performances has become an open space.[95] The hopes of an opportunity to "Play at Surfball: The New 21st Century Sport" which Mr Mandelson first raised in us in December have now been dashed; the development of the concept of a modern game which has not yet been played is now, according to Ms Page, "commercially confidential information which the Company proposes to keep to itself for some time yet".[96] We find it difficult to understand how a game could be commercially confidential. Nor are we content at the phraseology employed by Ms Page. The Company may wish to keep information confidential, but that is no reason why it should not be available to this Committee.

39. Ms Page urged patience about the content of the Dome bearing in mind that "the creative process is of necessity an iterative one". There was a continuing dialogue between the Company, the architects, the designers, the sponsors and others, including consideration of issues such as health and safety.[97] Mr Ayling believed that, in working with creative people, some aspects were unlikely to be fixed until quite late in the process.[98] Mr Mandelson saw no benefit in the content being "set in aspic" at too early a stage.[99] We were told that changes in details, such as the shape and gender of the Body, ought not to be confused with changes to the design concepts, which had remained consistent.[100]

40. We are encouraged by some of the progress in the development of the Dome's content, but much remains to be achieved. Some of the outlines of the themes of each Zone suggest a worthiness which may not attract children, although Ms Page sought to assure us that each Zone would cover all age ranges.[101] The Committee is anxious that a visit to the Dome should not only be instructive for children of all ages, but should be a happy, absorbing and memorable event. We accept the Company's contention that the content should not be finalised prematurely, but equally it cannot be left to the last—or penultimate—minute. The later the content is in place, the smaller will be the margin for error. Early completion of at least parts of the content, and more information about the remainder, should also assist in marketing the Dome. Design concepts alone cannot sell the Dome to the public or, indeed, to the travel trade which requires lead times which are already being eroded.

Finance and sponsorship

41. The New Millennium Experience Company has a total budget for the duration of its life of £758 million.[102] So far, most expenditure has been on the construction of the Dome and the associated infrastructure, which remain on time and within budget.[103] The same is true of the related infrastructure provision by English Partnerships.[104] The Company was confident that its mechanisms of financial control would enable it to remain within budget.[105] Mr Mandelson also believed that the Company could retain tight control over costs even as the balance of expenditure switched towards development of the Dome's contents.[106]

42. The main source of revenue for the Company prior to the Experience's opening in addition to the guaranteed income from the Millennium Commission derives from sponsorship. The original business plan for the Experience assumed an income from sponsorship of £150 million. Last year we characterised this target as "enormously ambitious" and noted that "the timescale for identifying sponsors and gaining firm commitments is now extremely tight".[107] The Government and the Company have accepted that the target is ambitious, but remain confident about its achievement.[108] Sponsorship with a total value of about £71 million had been announced by June.[109] Mr Ayling and Mr Mandelson both said that sponsorship with a value in excess of £100 million had been "identified" and the latter saw no reason why the sponsorship identified but not yet announced would not be confirmed.[110] Mr Ayling did not consider that the Zones which had still to achieve sponsorship were necessarily less appealing to sponsors than those that had.[111] Mr Mandelson hoped to raise the target figure of £150 million "by the turn of the year".[112]

43. We feel somewhat inhibited in what we can say about the financial plans of the New Millennium Experience Company for several reasons. First, although it was stated in February that the Company's Corporate Plan would be published "at the end of March" and in early June that it would be "available shortly", the document is not yet in the public domain.[113] Second, the Company, which is not obliged to publish its Accounts for 1997-98 before September, has not yet done so.[114] Third, the Company is reluctant to release into the public domain information which might be commercially sensitive.[115] We serve notice that, during our next inquiry, we will accept no further delay. We are prepared to take oral evidence from the Company and the responsible Minister in private if necessary to receive the information we require about the Company's financial affairs. We expect the Corporate Plan and the Report and Accounts of the Company to be made available to Parliament as a matter of urgency. We note that "the turn of the year" is the target for completion of sponsorship and we expect to be able to assess the weight of sponsor commitment more thoroughly in our next inquiry and, in particular, whether contracts have been exchanged. We also expect that the value of sponsorship in kind should be subject to rigorous internal audit to ensure that this does not artificially inflate the sponsorship figures.

The Dome after the year 2000

44. In our previous Report on the Millennium Dome we noted the Government's intention to reach a decision on the long-term use of the Dome in the year 2000 and supported the retention of the Dome as a major public asset on its current site.[116] Since then, the Government has established a working party of officials under the chairmanship of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to develop mechanisms for encouraging and handling expressions of interest in the future use of the Dome. Mr Mandelson envisaged three sets of criteria on the basis of which expressions of interest would be considered:

Financial:

Environmental: ensuring that any proposal was sympathetic to the wider regeneration of the area;

Sustainability: ensuring a fitting and sustainable use for the Dome, bearing in mind its unique national status.[117]

We intend to return to this important matter in our next inquiry into the Millennium later this year.

82 Evidence, pp 47-48; Q 115. Back

83 Q 117. Back

84 QQ 73, 74, 79. Back

85 Q 116. Back

86 Q 182. Back

87 Q 119. Back

88 QQ 109, 121, 110. Back

89 Q 203. Back