Revealed: True cost of Godiva Festival
AN investigation has revealed the true extent of the Godiva Festival overspend and the cost of the failed gigs at the Ricoh Arena.
New figures released under the Freedom of Information Act found Godiva 2018 cost nearly £1 million - as the council admitted a true overspend of £479k and a ‘missing’ £100k from its accounts.
The Godiva’s woes came to light after a financial monitoring report in January revealed a £460,000 overspend on the festival, despite Coventry City Council only budgeting £150,000.
Last month, finance boss Cllr John Mutton blamed the overspend on axed Ricoh gigs for Ronan Keating - supported by Gabrielle - and Jonas Blue.
Ticket sales flopped for the council-funded concerts in March and April last year, withthe authority shifting the acts to the Godiva schedule instead.
In December, a council scrutiny board meeting was told that change has led to a “small administrative loss” for the authority.
Since the Godiva overspend was revealed in January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service sent Freedom of Information requests to the council to clarify the full costs.
The Telegraph also requested the same figures from the Coventry City Council. It was also asked to explain the extent of claims made by Cllr Mutton that the reason for the overspend of taxpayers’ cash was due to the failed Ricoh gigs.
Officially, the council said £813,114 was spent on Godiva overall,
£433,862 was made in income, with a £379,252 overspend.
Asked to explain how their overspend had dropped from £460,000, the council said its own figures circulated to councillors in January were wrong.
That sum, the council said, was “a prediction” based on the latest figures available on the Godiva and Ricoh gigs overspend, and not just the Godiva Festival.
Since then, it said “a decision was taken to move £35k of the Ricoh concert costs into the Godiva overspend”.
The council had agreed to pay £135,000 for the three acts to perform at the Ricoh gigs.
When those shows were switched to Godiva, the fee remained the same.
But only £35,000 of this was included in the overall Godiva costs
A whopping £100,000 has therefore not been factored into their figures, the council admitted.
That figure remains on the council’s books as the cost of the failed efforts to stage the Ricoh Arena concerts.
However, if the remaining £100,000 figure for the Richo gigs is included as a Godiva cost, given the acts ended up performing at the festival, the true spend on Godiva was £913,114, while the true overspend is £479,252.
When the Ricoh gigs were discussed at a scrutiny meeting in December, however, a finance officer said they caused ‘a small administrative loss’ - the council now say “the exact overspend was not clear to officers present”.
Last month, we highlighted the serious concerns around the costs of Godiva, the failed Ricoh gigs and the lack of transparency over how taxpayers’ cash had been used.
Now, released under a Freedom of Information request, the full costs of Godiva can be revealed. Its accounts also show: £300,104 was spent on all 57 artists, not including the missing £100,000
Other areas of spending included £273,887 on infrastructure such as stages and fencing, £110,819 on staffing, £25,682 on marketing and advertising, £25,440 on waste collection and clearance, £20,830 for crew and catering staff outside the council, £16,739 on catering and hospitality, £14,084 on fees and charges, £12,061 on printing and stationary, £6084 on energy, £3,527 on fleet charges, and £3,857 on other items including training, materials and hire of dressing rooms
Godiva income included £191,466 from sponsorship and other income streams such as stalls and fairground, £92,396 came from contributions from the City of Culture, and £150,000 fromthe council’s own budget
It added no cancellation fee was spent from axing the Ricoh gigs. There were therefore a “number of reasons” for the 2018 overspend, the council said.
A spokesman added: “In 2018, to meet growing demand, the site was enlarged to accommodate a capacity audience of 50,000 (up from 30,000) which brought with it additional cost.
“The decision to fence the entire site - the fair and the family field as well as the main field saw infrastructure, staffing and safety costs increase significantly.
“This decision was taken by the council in partnership with the police following the large increase in numbers at the 2017 festival.
“There were a number of additional factors for the increase in spending, including a reduction in sponsorship secured for the 2018 festival (compared to 2017) and a general increase in artist fees that rose to £300,000 to fund 57 artists on three stages over the course of the Godiva weekend.”
The council confirmed there are no plans to raise funds for Godiva by hosting events similar to the Ricoh gigs this year.
However the same agents who “advise” the council on which acts to book are expected to be used again this year.
An extra £379,000 “one-off commitment” has been pumped into this year’s Godiva budget. A spokesman added: “Future events will either have to generate additional income through a variety of ways such as sponsorship or merchandising or the event will be scaled back to ensure it can be delivered within the existing budget.” The council said last year’s festival brought £2.3m to the city’s economy and 115,000 visitors.