‘Unboxed: Creativity in the UK,’ a national festival held between March and October, was designed to celebrate British creativity in the age of Brexit – and was fittingly dubbed the ‘Brexit festival – has been a massive flop due to having attracted much fewer visitors than anticipated.
The festival exhibited artistic, scientific and technological projects across the kingdom. It was announced in 2018 by then Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it would mark “a moment of national renewal” after the United Kingdom left the European Union.
The event was christened “Unboxed: Creativity in the UK” and boasted a £120 million (€138 million) budget from the UK Government. However, the festival attracted only 18 million people, a fraction of the 66 million visitors organisers were hoping for.
Despite the evidenced low attendance numbers, the Brexit Festival's director, however, has refused to admit that it was a failure.
Inquiry into misuse of funds
Moreover, only 3 million people showed up at events across 107 of the UK's towns and cities, while many celebrations were broadcast online.
The Brexit festival flop is so pronounced that a parliamentary committee last month has asked an audit body to investigate the festival’s management to understand “why so much taxpayer money could be wasted for so little return.”
Much like Brexit's biggest supporters, festival director Phil Batty, however, insists the festival has been “a great success,” – seemingly ignoring the evidence under his nose while also changing the goal posts.
The target “of 66 million was never a visitor target for the program,” he confirmed. “It was an ambition for the project because we wanted to involve the whole of the UK.”
“This cultural experience showcased the best of science, tech and art, live and online,” he defending “Unboxed” on the BBC.
Either way, it seems that there was not much to celebrate for the so-called 'Brexit festival'.
