Call for 'serious review' of festival ticket prices

Ticket prices for Gloucester Tall Ships Festival will be reviewed after complaints that they are too expensive

Ticket prices for a festival in Gloucester will be reviewed after complaints that this year’s event was too expensive.

More than 17,000 people attended the Tall Ships Festival over the late May bank holiday at the city's historic docks.

But Gloucester City Council leaders said feedback had suggested the cost of entry was too high for some people and left families priced out.

Culture and leisure cabinet member Caroline Courtney said the council would look into making sure the event is "accessible to people from all income levels".

The festival also features fancy dress, music and food stalls

Tickets to access all dry land entertainment ranged from £8 for children to £14 for adults, while those wishing to step aboard the ships paid £19 for an adult ticket or £13 for a child's ticket.

While children under six could attend the festival for free, the costs put some families off attending, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Coney Hill councillor Tracy Millard called for a serious review into the ticket prices at a full council meeting on 18 July and asked Ms Courtney if she agreed they were too expensive.

Ms Courtney replied that she had received similar feedback from residents of her Tuffley ward.

"It’s something we are taking seriously and looking to address in future," she added.

The Phoenix at Gloucester Docks during the Tall Ships Festival

Ms Courtney explained providing large events for free or at a minimal entry price had become increasingly difficult with the cost-of-living crisis and a rise in infrastructure costs since the pandemic.

She said there were "very high base costs to run even a basic version of the event" and that council officers had determined that paid ticketing was the only way to cover overheads.

“The production timescale was short, so alternative funding sources were not available to offset costs," she added.

“It is important to note that this paid entry model is not a money-making exercise but a loss-minimising one.”