‘Festival of Brexit’ facing scrutiny over use of taxpayers’ money

Published

2 years ago

November 22, 2022

admin

The head of the £120m Unboxed project – a year-long series of events aimed at celebrating UK creativity – says it is “rightfully being scrutinised” by the National Audit Office but that taxpayers will see a “wide range” of cultural benefits.

From psychedelic inflatable playgrounds to shared transcendental experiences, the project was, at times, gloriously weird, educational and impressive, but arguably not quite what Brexit-backers envisioned when Theresa May announced the idea back in 2018.

Since the start of this year, rather than unite the country, it has been relentlessly criticised by politicians and the press over everything from its name to disputed audience figures.

Now events are officially over, organisers have released the final numbers which show 2.8 million attending live events in 107 locations throughout England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Through its digital and broadcast content, it claims to have achieved an audience of over 18 million – vastly higher than initial government numbers, which indicated only 240,000 people had attended events.

Phil Batty, the project’s executive director, told Sky News: “The national audit office is looking at the overall programme that we delivered, we’ve been working with them all the way through the project, it’s a major government programme, and therefore it’s rightfully being scrutinised on behalf of the taxpayer, but we know that they’ll find the results are really strong.

“I think what we’ll see as part of the independent evaluation next year is such a wide range of benefits, some of those economic, some of those social, some of those cultural.”

Elaborate art installations on decommissioned oil rigs might seem a bit crude given the current cost of living crisis, but if the best art is something that elicits an emotional response, well it certainly achieved that. Just not necessarily in the way organisers intended.

MP Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, says it has proven to be a “colossal waste of money”.

“There was certainly some stigma over the phrase ‘festival of Brexit’ at the start for certain artists, but the reality is that this was clearly a failure of the project. It was a failure in terms of having an idea and actually having something that resonated with people.”

But Mr Batty insists the successive Conservative governments that have overseen the project from its inception through to now have all been happy with how the money was spent.

“We’ve had really good feedback from all four governments – they’re really pleased to see the results today but they’re also excited with the way we’ve used innovative approaches to commissioning to bring out the very best of our science tech engineering and arts sector and put on a programme that the whole of the UK could enjoy.”

One of the aims was to take events to towns, cities and rural areas less well served by major cultural programmes.

Unboxed numbers show 6,000 jobs and paid development opportunities were also created along the way.

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon is the CEO of Stemettes which collaborated on the “About Us” events – a light and sound spectacle that charted 13.8 billion years of history, from the Big Bang to the present day.

Dr Imafidon argues: “You have to look beyond just the numbers.”

“The value of this has been in the connections that have been made. It’s been the lifelines they’ve been giving. It’s been the perspective after such a tough time for so many families and people across the country.

“I’ve seen the joy in the faces. I’ve seen the skills learnt, I’ve seen the sense of pride actually in seeing themselves up in these productions across the country on our landmarks.”

Entertainment

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

5 hours ago

April 4, 2025

admin

Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2025

admin

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.

Entertainment

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven ‘lost’ albums

Published

1 day ago

April 3, 2025

admin

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven 'lost' albums

Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.

The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.

The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.

Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.

Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.

Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.

The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.

Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.

The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.

Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.

The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.