‘Festival of Brexit’ falls spectacularly short of 66 million visitor target

Director mourns ‘politicisation’ of project – as just 0.36% of target achieved

The £120m arts festival known as the “Festival of Brexit” has seen just 238,000 visitors, falling far short of organisers’ most ambitious target.

Organisers of Unboxed, the government-sponsored, post-Brexit programme of arts events, had set a “stretch target” of 66 million attendees.

But government figures for four Unboxed events show a total of 238,000 people taking part, according to The House magazine – just 0.36 per cent of the most hopeful target.

In a scathing report earlier this year, MPs on the digital, culture, media and sport select committee warned that the festival was a waste of money – saying the government’s handling of the project was a “recipe for failure”.

Unboxed organisers have now criticised the politicisation of the events, with director Martin Green saying it had been “unfortunate” that the “Festival of Brexit” tag had stuck.

The initiative was temporarily branded as “Festival UK* 2022” before Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg characterised it as a “festival of Brexit”.

Mr Green told The House: “We all must learn from this. Rule one of major events: don’t politicise them. And unfortunately, a few chose to politicise it from the beginning.”

When asked to lead the festival by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Green said that he asked: “Can I ascertain it’s not a Brexit festival? You don’t want some kind of jingoistic jamboree?” The director said he was assured it would not be.

Some participants in Unboxed event are said to have insisted that Brexit was not mentioned in their contracts. A spokesperson for Unboxed said there were “absolutely no references to Brexit” in commissioning agreements.

Unboxed events, scheduled to run from March to October this year, included the “About Us” light shows and “Our Place in Space” walking trails. An Unboxed spokesperson said they were “pleased with how the public are engaging”.

In March MPs criticised the framing of the project, which officials at the culture department billed as including “something for everyone” – despite being advised that it should not “be all things to all people”.

There was also concern that very few people knew that the event was happening or what it involves, with its purpose remaining “vague”.

Tory MP Julian Knight, chair of the committee, said on Thursday that “serious questions” needed to be answered over the huge sums “squandered” on the initiative.

“Despite reassurances from organisers that everything would be alright on the night, the scant interest shown by the public is a damning indictment of the festival from start to finish,” he said.

Mr Knight added: “With Unboxed costing four times the celebrations for the Queen’s platinum jubilee, serious questions need to be answered about the aims and delivery of the project and how it has been allowed to squander such a vast sum of taxpayers’ money.”

Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain group, said the festival “is the perfect metaphor for how Brexit itself has turned out – hugely expensive and deeply unpopular with no one really getting what they wanted”.

The festival figures were revealed as former Brexit minister David Frost admitted that he has held talks with Conservative Party associations about standing to be an MP.

Lord Frost, who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government at the end of last year, said he was “ambivalent” about being given a place in the House of Lords.

“If you are going to be in politics where you actually have a finger on the buttons of power then you should really be elected,” he told The House.