§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the maximum daily capacity of the Millennium Dome is between 21 March and 31 December; [115273]
358W(2) pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 153W, on the Millennium Dome, for what reason the total number of available tickets varies on a daily basis. [115726]
§ Janet Anderson[holding answer 21 March 2000]: The licensed capacity of the Millennium Experience site, including the Dome, is 35,000 visitors at any one time during opening hours.
During the early weeks of operation, fewer tickets were released for sale than the optimum number allowed under the operating licence. This was to ensure a high-quality visitor experience while the inevitable teething problems were being addressed, at a time when many visitors were staying inside the Dome to shelter from poor weather conditions. The number of schools participating in free Education Tours during the morning and afternoon sessions also has some bearing on the quantity of tickets released for sale.