§ 12. Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the eventual total cost to public funds of the Millennium Dome. [114865]
§ Mr. Chris SmithThe Millennium Experience has a cash-limited budget of £758 million for the Dome at Greenwich and its associated national programme of events and activities. The budget is made up of grant from the Millennium Commission, private sector sponsorship and commercial income. The New Millennium Experience Company aims to stay within that budget. The project is receiving no funds from the Exchequer.
§ 13. Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the most recent attendance figures for the Millennium Dome. [114866]
§ Janet AndersonThe Government are extremely encouraged by the continuing upward trend in visitor numbers to the Millennium Experience at Greenwich—10 million paying visitors will enable the company to deliver a break-even operating budget. NMEC's target remains higher than that but its focus at this stage is achieving 10 million.
Over 1.25 million people have visited the Dome so far, which is remarkable in itself given that January, February and March are traditionally low season periods for visitor attractions.