Millennium Dome (Hansard, 29 November 2000)

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the compensation payments paid in respect of(a) the original roof contract 623W and (b) other aborted contracts relating to the Millennium Dome. [134825]

§ Janet Anderson
The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has advised that the roof contract remains subject to legal proceedings. No payments have been made at this stage. Other aborted contracts were concerned with the original proposal for a self-contained drum structure at the centre of the Dome. This was replaced in November 1997 with the current central arena configuration. Costs associated with the drum structure totalled £990,000.

2000 Total free¹ Total discounted² Total sponsors from discounted³ Full price tickets⁴ Total attendance⁵

January 10,164 50,669 14,685 305,586 366,420

February 73,115 56,868 9,169 439,555 569,538

March 103,372 60,209 4,892 392,727 556,308

April 68,773 112,352 12,077 398,208 579,333

May 102,903 157,385 13,456 241,916 502,204

June 135,181 165,461 14,502 239,625 540,267

July 123,077 217,267 15,575 266,175 606,519

August 20,148 263,521 12,958 267,547 551,216

September 109,372 209,374 13,285 144,538 463,284

October 74,448 424,524 16,609 158,652 657,624

¹Includes free school visits, carers for disabled people, sponsor ticket allocation, accompanying teachers on paying school visits, coach drivers, Greenwich residents, NMEC guests and VIPs.

²This reflects a range of promotions and offers which are normal for the visitor attraction business and which are factored into the company's business strategy. For example, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has run a number of offers and promotions with its sponsors for their customers and also continues to run a special ticket price for entry after 4pm. Key promotions with M&S, Boots, Tesco and BT have been undertaken. The Tesco half price promotion was redeemed in October, BT will be redeemed in November and December.

³Sponsor tickets have been purchased and allocated per each individual sponsorship contract.

⁴This number is an approximation and as such should be used for review purposes only. There is insufficient accuracy for it to be regarded as audited or validated information.

⁵Total attendance does not take into account non-attendance by ticket purchasers. It represents visitor footfall via the admission system and not total tickets sold.

Note:
NMEC operates 2 different systems, one for ticket sales (Enta) and one for admissions (ACS). The admissions system records total attendance, but does not show details of the attendance ie: purchase source of admission or monetary value of admission. Consequently figures for free and discounted tickets are derived from the ticketing system, whereas total attendance is derived from the admission system.

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish correspondence between Mr. Mike O'Connor and his Department concerning the grant of £47 million to the Dome in September. [134488]

§ Janet Anderson
[holding answer 26 October 2000]: As requested, I am arranging for copies of the correspondence between Mr. Mike O'Connor, the Director of the Millennium Commission, and my Department regarding the additional grant of £47 million to the Dome in September to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what budget has been allocated to mark the closure of the Millennium Dome. [136451]

§ Janet Anderson
The Dome is open for business on new year's eve from 9.00am to 6.00pm. The separate and private Ministry of Sound event in venues adjacent to the Dome will begin at about 9.00pm. Therefore no budget has been allocated to any celebration to mark the closure of the Dome.

§ Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to mark the closure of the Millennium Dome. [136239]
624W

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visitors to the Dome there were(a) paying full prices, (b) paying a reduced price and (c) entering free, in each week since 1 January. [134496]

§ Janet Anderson
[holding answer 26 October 2000]: The information on a month-by-month basis is shown in the table. The information provided is a reasonable approximation only, but represents the most accurate data available at present. Weekly figures can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

§ Janet Anderson
The Dome is open for business on new year's eve from 9.00am to 6.00pm. The separate and private Ministry of Sound event in venues adjacent to the Dome will begin at about 9.00pm.

§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what events are scheduled to take place in the Millennium Dome after 31 December. [140426]

§ Janet Anderson
[holding answer 27 November 2000]: No events are scheduled to take place in the Millennium Dome after 31 December.

2000	Total free¹	Total discounted²	Total sponsors from discounted³	Full price tickets⁴	Total attendance⁵
January	10,164	50,669	14,685	305,586	366,420
February	73,115	56,868	9,169	439,555	569,538
March	103,372	60,209	4,892	392,727	556,308
April	68,773	112,352	12,077	398,208	579,333
May	102,903	157,385	13,456	241,916	502,204
June	135,181	165,461	14,502	239,625	540,267
July	123,077	217,267	15,575	266,175	606,519
August	20,148	263,521	12,958	267,547	551,216
September	109,372	209,374	13,285	144,538	463,284
October	74,448	424,524	16,609	158,652	657,624
¹Includes free school visits, carers for disabled people, sponsor ticket allocation, accompanying teachers on paying school visits, coach drivers, Greenwich residents, NMEC guests and VIPs.
²This reflects a range of promotions and offers which are normal for the visitor attraction business and which are factored into the company's business strategy. For example, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has run a number of offers and promotions with its sponsors for their customers and also continues to run a special ticket price for entry after 4pm. Key promotions with M&S, Boots, Tesco and BT have been undertaken. The Tesco half price promotion was redeemed in October, BT will be redeemed in November and December.
³Sponsor tickets have been purchased and allocated per each individual sponsorship contract.
⁴This number is an approximation and as such should be used for review purposes only. There is insufficient accuracy for it to be regarded as audited or validated information.
⁵Total attendance does not take into account non-attendance by ticket purchasers. It represents visitor footfall via the admission system and not total tickets sold.