Dundee’s council leader says “use it or lose it has come true” after the city’s main Christmas event was scrapped.
Winterfest was deemed a big success after it was first staged at Slessor Gardens in 2021.
The event – organised by commercial firm M&N Events with some council support – returned in 2022 after helping boost city coffers by more than £2 million.
But poor footfall, combined with the cost-of-living crisis, were blamed for plans to move and downsize it for 2023.
The event then failed to open at all as expected last week.
The Courier has since revealed a series of emails which show the confusion and frustration surrounding the organisation of the ill-fated 2023 Winterfest event.
‘The council were desperately keen to see a return of Winterfest’
Dundee City Council had supported Winterfest in 2021 and 2022 with a total of £50,000 – though no financial support was planned for 2023 as the local authority instead focused on its own City Square activities.
Addressing the loss of Winterfest, John Alexander – leader of the SNP administration – insisted the local authority could only do so much.
He said: “What the public have seen from the Freedom of Information requests (published by The Courier) is that the council were desperately keen to see a return of Winterfest.
“The reason we had it in the first place was because our administration supported efforts to bring those proposals forward.
“The model was to get things moving in the first year or two and then for it to fly on its own.
“It was never based on an ongoing model of public subsidy and that was something that was broadly supported.
“But it seems some think further council funding should be used to subsidise a private company.
Council says leader ‘at the mercy of commercial operators’
“Sadly, you are at the mercy of commercial operators and clearly, they did not feel that it generated enough income and footfall to justify the outlay.
“It’s one of those infuriating occasions where the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ has come true.
“I still hope to see a return of a larger Christmas experience but it needs to be of Dundee and for Dundee.”
The city has been dealt a further blow with the news that Slessor Gardens is not included in an expanded Summer Sessions music festival in 2024 – despite the venue previously hosting it in 2022.
Council ‘has no control over events returning’
Mr Alexander said: “All of these concerts and events are commercial in nature.
“If the events are a success, in terms of footfall and income, I expect they’ll return with bells on.
“If they are not a commercial success, and the company doesn’t sell enough tickets, they’ll sadly consider a different approach
“Neither I, nor the council, have any control over that other than encouraging those entities to bring their offer here.
“I’m desperately keen to see big events, like those we’ve seen in previous years, return and hopefully the whole of Dundee can get behind those efforts.”
In more positive news, Liz Hobbs Group – which has run concerts at Slessor Gardens for a number of years – has confirmed its intention to return.
A spokesperson said: “Slessor Gardens remains one of our priority venues and we continue to work closely with Dundee City Council to secure artists to play in 2024.
“Details will, of course, be made public when confirmed.”
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