DURHAM looks set to lose more than £700,000 as a result of cancelled events at its leading music venues due to Covid, research shows.

The research by events firm Eventopedia has found Durham will lose £735,889 on events from just three city venues - the Old Cinema Launderette, Gala Theatre and Cinema and Durham Cathedral - meaning the true figure is likely to be much higher. 

As well as looking at cancelled events between March 2020 and 2021, the average cost of a ticket and the venue's capacity, the research also factors in the average cost of a pint, a meal in a restaurant and a parking space for four hours in efforts to calculate the overall economic loss to Durham.

Cancelled events at Gala Theatre and Cinema over the year will cost the city £526,284 while for every cancelled show at Durham Cathedral, the local economy loses up to £20,171.

Kathy and Richard Turner, owners of the Old Cinema Launderette, say the business has lost significant income and employees have been out of work, but they remain positive.

They said: "We have remained open throughout the Covid related lockdowns for laundry customers but, particularly in the first lockdown, we had a massive drop in custom and therefore our takings were significantly reduced.

The Northern Echo: Kathy and Richard Turner of the Old Cinema Launderette Kathy and Richard Turner of the Old Cinema Launderette

"The furlough scheme has been very helpful in retaining staff and have thankfully not had to make any staff redundant.

"The venue and bar side of the launderette has effectively ceased due to the significant restrictions on indoor entertainment.

"This has meant that staff working on this side of the business have not been paid and did not qualify for furlough or other grants.

"The venue side also contributes towards the overall launderette outgoings like rent etc so this has been a further significant loss of income.

"We remain positive that when the vaccine is rolled out and everyone becomes more confident about venturing out that the gigs will return and we can continue up to bring local, national and internationally acclaimed artists to the Old Cinema Launderette.

"We would very much like to thank existing and new customers for supporting Old Cinema Launderette during these unprecedented times."

Newcastle, taking the Sage Gateshead, Utilita Arena and the o2 Academy into consideration, is set to lose £13,023,995.

The Northern Echo: Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral

Chief executive Toby Heelis said: "Smaller cities benefit more proportionally than the capital city from these types of events and famously a university city, Durham would have greatly benefitted from having events running in some capacity over the past six months as students old and new returned to the city bringing a boost to the local economy, something it will likely have relied on over the years.

"The restrictions and shutdowns have had a devastating impact. As many businesses have had to pivot to new revenue streams to survive the lockdowns, these cities, like Durham, need more help from central government as we move forwards."

St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton suffered the biggest loss for every cancelled event outside of London, with each cancellation costing the local economy up to £2,395,271.83. 

While in London each cancelled event at Wembley Stadium since March is estimated to have cost the city up to £5,850,055.79.