‘Festival of Brexit’ facing scrutiny over use of taxpayers’ money
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.”
Phil Batty is the executive director of Unboxed
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.”
The Unboxed project has created 6,000 jobs
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.”
Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.
Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.
Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.
It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
The full track list is:
1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.
Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.
The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records
‘The hardest-working star in pop’
The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.
That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.
A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.
Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.
The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.
Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.
He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.
Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.
Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.
Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.
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In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.
Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.
Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.
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