Agenda item

The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To consider a request from Féile an Phobail for the Council to cash flow a proportion of the up-front costs of the 30th anniversary / birthday events in August 2018 which will be recouped by the Council from the direct payment of ticket sales by ticket selling agent ‘Ticketmaster’ to the Council.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to

·        Consider the proposal to cash flow the upfront costs of the Féile an Phobail 30th Anniversary / Birthday events planned for August 2018 up to a cap of £300k which will be recouped through the direct receipt of ticket sales from Ticketmaster, subject to appropriate legal agreements and insurance arrangements being put in place.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Féile an Phobail will celebrate its 30th Anniversary / Birthday in 2018 and is planning to hold three major headline events in the open event space in Falls Park in August 2018.

3.2       Féile an Phobail has written to the Council (Appendix 1) seeking cash flow support from the Council to manage the up-front costs of the events, with the Council recouping the cash flow payments via ticket sales directly from Ticketmaster, the ticket selling agent for the events.

3.3       The main reason for the cash flow request is that artist confirmation and initial marketing and promotion costs have to be incurred before ticket sales and the receipt of ticket sales income commence.

3.4       Council officers have reviewed the income and expenditure projections for the events and discussed these with Féile an Phobail. Ticketmaster have also confirmed the legal and insurance arrangements which would be necessary in order for Ticketmaster to channel ticket sales payments directly to the Council. 

3.5       On the basis of these discussions it is recommended that the Council’s cash flow financing limit be set at £300,000. This cash flow limit, together with the profiled income streams, should ensure the matching of income and expenditure for the events.

3.6       Risks to the Council

            There are two main risks to the Council with regard to the proposal:

·        That the projected ticket sales do not meet the projected levels required to meet planned expenditure.

·        That due to unforeseen circumstances, one or more of the events has to be cancelled and ticket sales have to be returned to Ticketmaster for refund to the public.

3.7       Risk Mitigation

            Ticket Sales: Major events at the Féile have a history of being sell out concerts. However, in order to reduce the risk related to ticket sales, the financial models have been tested on 75% ticket sales levels and this projects that income levels would provide adequate cover for the projected fixed and marginal costs.

            Event Cancellation: In order to mitigate the risk of ticket sales having to be refunded due to cancellation for unforeseen events, Féile and Phobail will be required to have in place adequate cancellation insurance. 

3.7       Financial and Resource Implications

            If Members agreed to the proposal, all ticket sales would be paid direct to the Council and then released to Féile an Phobail, with a Council’s cash flow limit of £300,000 applying at any time. There will be no net cost to the Council as the cash advances will be recouped from Ticketmaster receipts.

3.8       The arrangements would be subject to establishing appropriate legal agreements between the Council, Ticketmaster and Féile an Phobail 

3.9       Equality Implications

            There are no equality implications with this report.”

Moved by Councillor Beattie,

Seconded by Councillor Corr,

      That the Committee agrees to accede to the request from Féile and Phobail for the Council to cash flow a proportion of the up-front costs of the 30th anniversary/birthday events in August 2018, which would be recouped by the Council from the direct payment of ticket sales by ticket selling agent “Ticketmaster” to the Council.

            On a vote by show of hands seven members voted for the proposal and eleven against and it was accordingly declared lost.