Cost of Cov’s big screen... which no longer works

HOPES of showing England’s World Cup semifinal clash against Croatia on Coventry’s big screen were dashed after the City Council revealed it would not be possible because the screen is broken.

And now, we can reveal that the damage is worse than first expected, and the giant screen may never be used again.

The giant screen was first installed at the Transport Museum ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Though London was the host city, parts of the football competition took place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

For that reason, the screen was installed, in a joint council and BBC effort as part of the Olympic Live Site programme.

The cost to the local authority alone was £140,000.

A council spokesman said: “The council and the BBC paid for the screen as part of the Olympic Live Site programme in 2011/2012.

“It cost the council £140,000.”

The BBC then severed ties with all 22 of big screens across the UK in 2013.

Coventry’s big screen was first used to broadcast the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.

In the summer of 2015 the screen was used to show a series of films including Frozen, Mary Poppins and Back to the Future as part of an outdoor cinema event.

However the screen has been blank for some time and, sadly for the legacy of the Olympic Games in Coventry, that looks unlikely to change.

The council released a statement following the requests for the screen to be used to showcase this summer’s World Cup football, with a spokesperson saying: “We’ve had requests to show Wednesday’s match on the big screen.

“We’d love to, but unfortunately the screen is broken.

“We’ll continue to fly the England flag outside the Council House to show our support for the team.

“Along with the rest of the country, we’ll be cheering them onto victory and, fingers crossed, to the final.”

After the council confirmed the unfortunate news, the Telegraph went back to the council, and asked if the screen might be repaired, and used for future events.

Unfortunately, that will not be the case, as the screen has been confirmed to be permanently broken.

The first signs of trouble began in 2016, when it broke for the first time, and following a number of repairs, it was essentially condemned to Coventry’s history books at the end of last year.

A Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “The screen first broke in 2016 and has had several repairs.

“At the end of last year, it became clear it wasn’t going work again.

“We don’t have any plans at the moment for what will happen next to it.”

Surprisingly, despite being permanently broken for at least seven months, the screen has not actually been switched off.

A slight flickering can be spotted at the top of the screen, showing that despite the fact that it has no future, it has not actually been turned off.

It is unknown how much electricity has been used running the screen while it has been deemed permanently broken.