Minutes:
(Mr. G. Copeland, City Events Manager, attended in connection with this item.)
The Committee considered the undernoted report:
“1 Relevant Background Information
1.1 At the meeting on Wednesday, 9th December, 2009, Members noted the success of the Belfast Tall Ships 2009, an event which generated huge positive profile for the City and an economic return of over £16m to the local economy.
1.2 They further agreed, in principle, and subject to a detailed report and appropriate approvals, that Belfast enters the bidding to host the Tall Ships Race in the future.
1.3 Belfast has now been invited by Sail Training International (STI), the Race Organisers, to bid to host the 2015 Tall Ships Race. The deadline for submissions is 14th September 2011.
2. Key Issues
2.1 Members are being provided with the Belfast Tall Ships 2009 Ltd Company Report which provides a detailed analysis of the 200 event and will form the benchmark for the 2015 event.
The report highlights the very substantial benefits which the Tall Ships event brought to the city including:
- £400,000 visitors to the city
- £16m generated for the Belfast Economy
- the creation of 90 jobs
- £1m of infrastructural development
2.2 Members are also asked to note that two other reviews were conducted on the project. A GATE review was carried out by Property and Projects Department, with the event being given the highest score under each of the set criteria. BCC’s Audit, Governance and Risk Services have almost completed a ‘Lessons Learned’ document to highlight the success of the event in terms of managing risk and good governance. These documents will be used to plan for the future.
2.3 Management and Delivery
In advance of the 2009 event the ‘Belfast Tall Ships 2009’ Company was set up as a special purpose vehicle to deliver the event. This Company is still in existence albeit in a dormant state and could potentially be resurrected should the bid be successful, and be tasked with the delivery of the 2015 event.
A separate report will be brought to Committee outlining options for a vehicle should the bid be successful.
2.4 Logistics and Operations
The City Events Unit, in partnership with other organisations in the City, but primarily the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, would deliver the event with oversight from the Board. The Council will not only draw on the experiences of 2009, but also on the delivery of the City’s annual Maritime Festival.
2.5 Finance
Should the bid be successful, Council officers will initially engage with other public sector bodies involved in 2009 (NITB, DCAL, DSD) to secure the base funding for 2015.
3 Resource Implications
3.1 Finance
Members are reminded that the 2009 event cost a total of £2.4m, of which the Council contributed £1.1m. Members are also reminded that a considerable portion of the £2.4m was used to upgrade the physical infrastructure within the Harbour in order to be fit for purpose. The overall budget for this project in 2015 is likely to be in the region of £2.3 to £2.5m.
3.2 It is anticipated that BelfastCity Council will be asked to contribute a maximum of £1.3m to the staging of the event. It is anticipated that additional funds will also be sourced from NITB, DCAL, DSD and BHC to the sum of £1m.
3.3 If the bid were successful, £380,000 would be sourced from existing City Events Unit resources. This would be found from the annual maritime and Titanic events budget. It would then be expected that the Council’s remaining £980,000 would be built into its medium term financial plan at no additional cost to ratepayers. This would be similar to the approach taken with regard to the funding of the Tall Ships 2009 where a fund was built up over the 4 year period prior to the event taking place.
3.4 As part of any successful bid, Belfast would be required to sign and return a contract, and make the first host port payment within 30 days of notification. This initial instalment would amount to £31,000 and would be part of the Council’s overall contribution.
4 Equality and Good Relations Considerations
As with all major civic events, public events like this have the potential to bring together people from a wide range of backgrounds and therefore promote good relations in the city.
5 Recommendations
5.1 Members are asked to:
· agree the content of the report and
· provide approval to bid for a 2015 Tall Ships event.
And if the bid is successful:
· authorise the first installment of £31,000.
· allow the Council to enter into contract negotiations with STI.”
A prolonged discussion ensued during which concern was expressed that the Council might be left financially exposed in its bid to host the event since the other bodies and agencies had not, as yet, agreed to contribute towards the anticipated costs. The City Events Manager pointed out that the bid did not contractually commit
the Council and any contract would be subject to support of other funders. In response to a Member’s question in relation to the frequency of the visits to the City of the Tall Ships, the City Events Manager pointed out that the City of Waterford had hosted the Tall Ships in 2005 and 2011, and that the visitor numbers had increased on the second occasion.
After discussion, during which it was agreed that a bid to host the Tall Ships in 2015 should be formulated and submitted, the Committee agreed to adopt the recommendations, subject to the total amount which the Council would contribute financially towards the event being capped at no more than £1,150,000.