Bayside Blues: Festival sees low turnout

11:30am Tuesday 31st July 2012 in News By Emily Stott

LOW TURNOUT: Bayside Festival site at the Pavilion car park. LOW TURNOUT: Bayside Festival site at the Pavilion car park.

THE Bayside Festival in Weymouth has been hit by the low number of visitors to the town.

The festival’s managing director, Joe Hill, said: “Our capacity is 9,000 at any one time but at our busiest time so far, the maximum we’ve had here is about 3,600.

“We want to be entertaining a lot more people. It’s been disappointing in terms of numbers. In terms of what we’ve got going on here, there is so much to do and see. It’s a great value, fun family day out in Weymouth.

“We want everyone to know that Weymouth is very much open.”

Marketing boss Richard Walters said: “We have the capacity to look after a lot more people than we have at the moment. Come by train, bus, car – the roads have never been clearer.”

When asked about Take That tribute band tickets being reduced from £10 to £5, Mr Hill said: “We are offering additional tickets to customers who bought their tickets at £10.

“If they bought a £10 ticket, we are offering a free ticket to see one of the other bands playing at the Bayside Festival for free. So far, everybody seems to be happy with that.”

Traders from the many shopping stalls situated next to the Pavilion haven’t seen as many people coming through as they had expected.

Paul Bertie, managing director of Ocean World based on the Isle of Wight, said : “It has been very disappointing. A lot of people are afraid to come into Weymouth. They really need to change all the signs to say Weymouth is open.

“The figures of people expected to attend have been so wrong. It’s been about a tenth of what they said.”

He added: “I feel so sorry for the local traders and hotels in Weymouth. People have said to me they hope that once the Olympics leave there will be an influx of people and then the season can really start.”

Sasha Chowdhury, co-running the fashion outlet stall, said: “It’s been terrible. They are just not coming up this far, they go as far as the screens showing the Olympics and then stop.”

She said she would be contacting the organisers to get more signs and advertising for the festival.

Charlotte Bennett from the Joules stall, said: “It could have been better. It’s been a lot quieter than we expected. We expected it to be more widely advertised.”

Bethan Helm, also from Joules, said: “I know they have been trying to encourage people to come in by changing the prices. I just don’t think many people even realise we are here.”

Visitors enjoyed the music and the bar but a group that had come from London were disappointed with the turn out.

Larry Stockton, 45, from London said: “We have had great fun but I did expect a lot more people here. I mean they've put the price down to £1 so what does that say?”

Richard Saddle of Warwickshire, whose son Sam Saddle owns Saddle Creek clothing, said: “It’s great to be here and be a part of the Olympics. We just need a few more people for business.”

Philip Marsh, managing director of Chatham Marine, said: “We expected more people of our clientele coming through the doors. That’s what we were told. We specialise in technical footwear for sailing and it’s mainly holidaymakers coming through the doors.”

Mr Marsh added: “People don’t know there is a shopping village here. The pitch has very expensive rent and if it carries on like this there is no way we can make that back.”

Comments(62)

terra firma says...
11:42am Tue 31 Jul 12

Apart from the paying public I am absolutely gobsmacked at the lack of visitors using the free vantage points along the coast from Bowleaze to Ringstead.

In Monday's televised events I counted a handful of people other than in the car parks at the Smugglers and Riviera!

We in Wimborne have had £8m invested in the carbuncle which once was a roundabout at Canford Bottom - and months of noisy night works - to speed the non-existent traffic. Added to that, the Merley junction is closed to traffic accessing or leaving the A31 when there is time to put on a procession between vehicles using it.

With all the hooey about security, dare I suggest that police numbers could be drastically reduced to save on £££££££ overtime now that there are no people to deal with?

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terra firma says...
11:45am Tue 31 Jul 12

PS to the above -

Meant to add a well done to those whole organsied the diversion through Redlands on saturday after that smash. That at least worked well.

and

If Locog are easing the traffic restrictions in London, why can't we down here

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ManOnTheSilverMountain says...
12:06pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Bayside Festival = a chargable event to see a long list of naff tribute bands, or local bands you can see for free in the pubs.

Really, what were they thinking...

Everyone is sick and tired of ripoff Britain, and ripoff Olympics.

Bayside Festival needs to go free for the rest of the Olympics, and anyone that had bought a ticket can spend upto the ticketprice it at the food or drink stands.

Last year many of these bands were free to see on the BeachLive event, so why cash-in now it's Olympics time? Greed (the same reason all those guesthouses are empty...)

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Monmouthsman says...
12:49pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Paid mine and wife's £1s entry to the whole Bayside site around 6:15 yesterday eve. Nearly half the exhibitors and traders had shut and the quite terrific array of good quality reasonably priced food stands were doing very little business. A great band were playing to a very small audience. It was miserable weather but even so I am sure it was the lack of publicity on buses, local radio and newspaper together with the lack of any additional local buses from the event in the evening that caused such a low take-up from locals and tourists in residence.
How could it be that an event of this nature had such poor publicity and transport considerations? Best the bill for this disaster made by incompetence does not fall to us Council Tax payers.

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islandman says...
1:00pm Tue 31 Jul 12

We were offered free entry on Saturday which was a good incentive to get us in and whilst there, spent quite a bit of money on food/clothes etc.

Aside from that, whilst we were in, I couldn't help but comment that we almost forgot we were in that normally desolate area of grey nothingness.

If only someone somewhere would do something with the area and transform it. The tower is a beginning, but for many people, once they have tried it, that will be it. As for the Pavilion, words fail me. As I walked down the promenade today, I overheard visitors ask a group of four policemen where the Tourist Board was. As they clearly didn't know, I told them. The reply was "oh we're not walking right down there, in case what we are looking for is back up here".

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rjimmer says...
1:13pm Tue 31 Jul 12

terra firma wrote:
Apart from the paying public I am absolutely gobsmacked at the lack of visitors using the free vantage points along the coast from Bowleaze to Ringstead.

In Monday's televised events I counted a handful of people other than in the car parks at the Smugglers and Riviera!

We in Wimborne have had £8m invested in the carbuncle which once was a roundabout at Canford Bottom - and months of noisy night works - to speed the non-existent traffic. Added to that, the Merley junction is closed to traffic accessing or leaving the A31 when there is time to put on a procession between vehicles using it.

With all the hooey about security, dare I suggest that police numbers could be drastically reduced to save on £££££££ overtime now that there are no people to deal with?
I had been told that all that coastline as far as WhiteNose, was to be cordoned off with access limited to those with official Olympic tickets. P***ups and breweries don't come anywhere near this lot.

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monkeydog says...
1:34pm Tue 31 Jul 12

This is the biggest event in Weymouth's history and what do we have? 17 tribute bands and shows headlining days events at the Bayside. 17! Bridport have better and more original acts on any weekend than Weymouth can find in a year. Anyone who is satisfied with this obviously has never lived anywhere else or is remarkably easily pleased. Before anyone starts - this is not a moan, it's a plea. This is a good sized town. Can we have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - anyone who can bring in original, exciting acts befitting the town which deserves more.

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rjimmer says...
1:39pm Tue 31 Jul 12

monkeydog wrote:
This is the biggest event in Weymouth's history and what do we have? 17 tribute bands and shows headlining days events at the Bayside. 17! Bridport have better and more original acts on any weekend than Weymouth can find in a year. Anyone who is satisfied with this obviously has never lived anywhere else or is remarkably easily pleased. Before anyone starts - this is not a moan, it's a plea. This is a good sized town. Can we have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - anyone who can bring in original, exciting acts befitting the town which deserves more.
What would you call Simon Williams then?

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WeyDave says...
1:59pm Tue 31 Jul 12

rjimmer wrote:
monkeydog wrote: This is the biggest event in Weymouth's history and what do we have? 17 tribute bands and shows headlining days events at the Bayside. 17! Bridport have better and more original acts on any weekend than Weymouth can find in a year. Anyone who is satisfied with this obviously has never lived anywhere else or is remarkably easily pleased. Before anyone starts - this is not a moan, it's a plea. This is a good sized town. Can we have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - anyone who can bring in original, exciting acts befitting the town which deserves more.
What would you call Simon Williams then?
Who's Simon Williams?

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monkeydog says...
2:08pm Tue 31 Jul 12

rjimmer wrote:
monkeydog wrote:
This is the biggest event in Weymouth's history and what do we have? 17 tribute bands and shows headlining days events at the Bayside. 17! Bridport have better and more original acts on any weekend than Weymouth can find in a year. Anyone who is satisfied with this obviously has never lived anywhere else or is remarkably easily pleased. Before anyone starts - this is not a moan, it's a plea. This is a good sized town. Can we have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - anyone who can bring in original, exciting acts befitting the town which deserves more.
What would you call Simon Williams then?
I assume you mean the head of the Olympic effort down here. Can he get some decent acts in? If not, what's your point?

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John New says...
2:19pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Was given free entry to bayside on Friday lunchtime. Nothing what so ever of interest and big gaps between uninspiring music. My grand kids would have enjoyed the helter skelter but £10 for two adults to get in then 2 * £2 for a slide is £14 of rip off and the answer to why it is dead. Wrong place wrong acts and too expensive

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Amteach says...
2:42pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Great concert as always by Show of Hands last night, the only example where the organisers got it right in terms of their choice of acts. Like Weymouth Pavillion the have the strange idea that we want to see 'tributes' rather than the real thing. As to the rest of the 'festival', being asked to pay to shop at stalls that have already paid for the privilege of being there just shows that the organisers are just trying to cash in on an opportunity.

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John New says...
2:44pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Was given free entry to bayside on Friday lunchtime. Nothing what so ever of interest and big gaps between uninspiring music. My grand kids would have enjoyed the helter skelter but £10 for two adults to get in then 2 * £2 for a slide is £14 of rip off and the answer to why it is dead. Wrong place wrong acts and too expensive

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MaidofDorset says...
3:02pm Tue 31 Jul 12

I spent £13.90 on train fare and Bayside Festival entry yesterday. The train was almost empty, and my ticket to Bayside was well worth the £10.

I would have paid £10 to hear 'Lucid', but to get Show of Hands for £10 as well was a remarkable bargain as I had paid £40 in the spring to see them in the Royal Albert Hall, and they were on especially fine form last night.

For everyone concerned about seating, there was a large amount of picnic benches to sit down at.

Walking back past the Pavilion towards the train station gave us the most beautiful view of the bay.

In town, the Olympics seemed to have discouraged the chavs and their feral brats. The few children about were behaving beautifully.

To cut it short, the town was a thoroughly nice place to visit yesterday. I might even go to Bayside again.

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paddyash says...
3:03pm Tue 31 Jul 12

had a wander down there today around 12 noon, paid a pound, walked in, ten mins later left, completely dead, nothing on and everyone looked totally miserable. god no way would i have paid any more than that, such a shame, could have been so much better, but then who am i to say, also noticed the seafront very quiet, not like it should be. all another hash up !

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guesthouseownerweymouth says...
3:06pm Tue 31 Jul 12

manonthesilvermounta
in - you are very misinformed and naive - we own a B&B in the centre of Weymouth and have only a third of our rooms full - some times during the olympics our B&B is empty. We have been here 4 years and have never been empty this time of year - AND WE ARE NOT CHARGING ANY MORE THAN USUAL!!!!!!

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Mr Frible says...
3:07pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Saw Show of hands last night for a fiver, great band and good production, bit of a bargain.
As for the rest of the festival, entry should be free and get some more local bands on stage during the day. Good selection of food, clean toilets, on a sunny day its a good place to pass an hour or two listening to live music with a beer.
Just need to get the word out that Weymouth is open and this is a chance to feel part of the Olympics without travelling to London and paying a fortune.
Its time to support local events and businesses, not moan and complain, you can always do that later.

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Mr Frible says...
3:12pm Tue 31 Jul 12

MaidofDorset wrote:
I spent £13.90 on train fare and Bayside Festival entry yesterday. The train was almost empty, and my ticket to Bayside was well worth the £10.

I would have paid £10 to hear 'Lucid', but to get Show of Hands for £10 as well was a remarkable bargain as I had paid £40 in the spring to see them in the Royal Albert Hall, and they were on especially fine form last night.

For everyone concerned about seating, there was a large amount of picnic benches to sit down at.

Walking back past the Pavilion towards the train station gave us the most beautiful view of the bay.

In town, the Olympics seemed to have discouraged the chavs and their feral brats. The few children about were behaving beautifully.

To cut it short, the town was a thoroughly nice place to visit yesterday. I might even go to Bayside again.
totally agree about the feel in the town. A bit of sun and more people about and we can see what Weymouth could become if it aimed its sights a little higher.

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rjimmer says...
3:32pm Tue 31 Jul 12

monkeydog says...2:08pm Tue 31 Jul 12 "I assume you mean the head of the Olympic effort down here. Can he get some decent acts in? If not, what's your point?" .....My point is that we already have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - called Simon Williams.

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Jello Biafra says...
3:47pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Will Chesney Hawkes have a moshpit?

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monkeydog says...
3:53pm Tue 31 Jul 12

rjimmer wrote:
monkeydog says...2:08pm Tue 31 Jul 12 "I assume you mean the head of the Olympic effort down here. Can he get some decent acts in? If not, what's your point?" .....My point is that we already have an ambitious, innovative council, events organizer, entertainments officer,entrepreneur - whatever - called Simon Williams.
I admire your admiration of Mr Williams but it doesn't change the fact that Weymouth is generally presented with poor quality entertainment and I should hope the town is ambitious enough to want to do better. As someone said earlier, a Michael Buble impersonator is not good enough even if he has some talent. I will endeavour to follow Mr Williams' career, of which I know almost nothing, and see if he comes up with something that I can't see in a local pub. For my part the last headlining quality act I saw was in Bridport, the next will be in Poole. I accept I might have missed something in Weymouth but I think not.

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rjimmer says...
4:34pm Tue 31 Jul 12

monkeydog says...3:53pm Tue 31 Jul 12......Humour is lost on some people.

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monkeydog says...
4:44pm Tue 31 Jul 12

rjimmer wrote:
monkeydog says...3:53pm Tue 31 Jul 12......Humour is lost on some people.
It's lost on me. I can only assume you are being ironic in extolling the virtues of a former planner being in charge of entertainment. Pardon me.

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Amicus says...
5:25pm Tue 31 Jul 12

So, is everybody having a good time, then?
Good show, what!

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manyogie says...
6:13pm Tue 31 Jul 12

I live in poole, and know nothing of the festival, perhaps some advertising?

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snowleopard says...
6:14pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Just seen on News that London also suffering from low number of visitors during Olympics.

Some legacy this is going to be!

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wessex-andy says...
6:21pm Tue 31 Jul 12

I walked to that end of the Esplanade on Monday just before lunch-time and although I was told by a young lady that admission was only £1, I didn't bother to go in. Maybe I should have, even if only to see what was there.

Monday was a beautiful sunny summer day at the height of the season and although I spent three or four hours walking around the town and the Esplanade I thought that there were fewer people about than usual for this time of year.

The sandy part of the beach had some people taking advantage of the elbow room, but once past the clock, the beach was near deserted.

Personally, I have next to no interest in any of the Olympic Games, but the vast majority of people do seem to be interested. I think that the doom and gloom traffic forecasts that have been given out for the past months (years), together with the promise of increased charges for everything have put them off coming here.

I know that I have probably been one of the misery merchants over the past months, predicting a failed event, but it looks as though we were correct. In spite of my gloomy predictions, I really wanted the town to do well. You have no idea just how much I wanted to be proved wrong.

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TenBobDylanThomasHardy says...
8:27pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Legacy? Ever since I moved here 30 years ago the locals have been bleating for a 'Dorchester Road bypass' thamks to the Olympics that was completed over a year ago and seems to work well....what more do you want in the way of legacy?
p.s. ...and the 'need' for it was identified twenty years before I moved in!

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PEJ says...
8:37pm Tue 31 Jul 12

I have been a supporter of the Olympics from the onset until our oddjob councils decided to uproot Weymouth with their millions of pounds traffic light system. Parking is now a nightmare with major car parks closed and if I wish to go to a park and ride be charged an obscene amount. Plus who decided to charge £10 per person for the Pavilion, my grandchildren would have liked to go but at £40 for us all plus £10 park and ride no way. Obviously the thousands of tourists expected have found out the charges and stayed away in their droves. One tourist booked for a week but stayed only 2 days refusing to pay the £70 park and ride charges for a week. I was considering booking tickets for the Nothe only to be told I have to sit on the grass and not take food or drink. I am now firmly planted in comfort on my sofa watching the Olympics from my house and enjoying the grandchildren with a BBQ. I estimate I have saved in excess of £100. It is only the 3rd day W&PBC change the prices now and we may support the Olympics with our money.

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common cence says...
9:35pm Tue 31 Jul 12

A LOT OF YOU PEOPLE MAKING COMMENTS AS ABOVE SEEM SURPRISED THAT YOU FEEL YOU ARE BEING OVER CHARGED OR RIPPED OFF , DO YOU NOT KNOW YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT WEYMOUTH, ? ITS NOT GOING TO CHANGE , ITS ALL WAYS BEEN A RIP OFF AND AND WILL BE UNTILL THE LAST TO LEAVE TURNS THE LIGHT OUT , SORRY LASER

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rjimmer says...
9:39pm Tue 31 Jul 12

TenBobDylanThomasHar
dy ..8:27pm Tue 31 Jul 12......Now let's hope the rest of the road to Portland is built PDQ, seeing as there is nothing in sailing, for the local people. Portland could have been a thriving deep-water port by now if it hadn't been for W&PBC planners pandering to the yahties.

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ksmain says...
9:54pm Tue 31 Jul 12

snowleopard wrote:
Just seen on News that London also suffering from low number of visitors during Olympics.

Some legacy this is going to be!
But strangely they think Weymouth isnt.

Culled from page 2 of the Dorset Echo yesterday maybe?

**** just been passed on the relief road by some tumbleweed ........

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Yellowcave says...
10:04pm Tue 31 Jul 12

We've played on the beach for the council events free in the past, the audiences have always appeared to have enjoyed bopping to our sets, but this year we were not approached and not offered a slot, possibly because it is not run by a local.
On the other hand would I like to park and walk a very long way to stand outside and see the bands on offer? Possibly. For the prices quoted? 'Fraid not!

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jcrwey says...
10:45pm Tue 31 Jul 12

Shame the Echo felt the need to take a picture of the Bayside Festival empty - when it was closed!! Not very professional really....

As for the Car Parks some of the Park & Ride sites are free from tomorrow - just confirmed online.

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kildare43 says...
12:33am Wed 1 Aug 12

Well, it looks like our campaign on twitter to stay out of Dorset has worked. Thank you Dorset Transport Dpt. for cutting funding to our bus services and yes, we would have loved to have gone into Weymouth for all the festivities, but hey, no buses to get home on.

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firelighter says...
9:23am Wed 1 Aug 12

So, having spent £10 on a ticket, where on the Bayside website does it mention that they are offering me a free ticket - guess what, nowehere!

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vickg1250 says...
9:27am Wed 1 Aug 12

I returned back to Weymouth recently after 9 years of being away then having the opportunity to live once again in a beautiful part of Dorset, and not to retire :-) Being very excited that the town was having the opportunity to move forward and grow with the Olympic input I have been left feeling slightly deflated and shocked with the apathy and general feel of the place......but then how can we even welcome visitors with a first impression when we concrete acres of land for unused park and rides yet greet our visitors with tatty uncared for roundabouts and public areas? Have I missed the rationale for that? Despite cut backs it's shocking in the year this town had the chance to really shine the place generally looks uncared for (with the exception of Greenhil Gardens). It should have always been about motivating both locals and visitors into this town, not putting them off. Who cares if they are stuck in traffic or delayed a little longer than normal if what they are going to see and visit is worth it in the end and then encourages those to return again? What you can see is traders and local businesses who have clearly worked very hard but the anticipated buzz just isn't there and I certainly didn't feel it as we went into and around town last night - people look generally rather glum? It's early days yet and lets pray the rain stays away, but when all the the flags have gone and the fanfare died down will the legacy Weymouth is left with be one of debt and misfortune for all those who aspired for it to be so much more? I would very much like to be a fly on the wall when the post-event meetings within the council offices all take place!

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firelighter says...
9:31am Wed 1 Aug 12

I had a feeling this would be a farce or at least deja vu - I saw the whole thing in Warwickshire when the Pope visited Coventry in 1981. Traffic congestion warnings, major diversions, emergency service personnel all called in to duty, over flow car parks on the edge of Birmingham, and ....... yep - nothing!No traffic, no extra emergencies, no cars in the car parks . What a massive waste of public money again. Still, someone somewhere will be making a fortune.

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ManOnTheSilverMountain says...
9:33am Wed 1 Aug 12

@guesthouseownerweym
outh

Some friends of ours had Sailing tickets, and all the guesthouses they tried in Weymouth were charging £170 a night during the Olympics for a tatty room. How is that not greed? I'm happy it's all gone wrong for them, I see 2/3rd of guesthouses on the seafront with Vacancies and some with £35 rooms spare.

Out friends are now staying in a guesthouse near Swyre where they didn't get ripped off with pre-games pricing.

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Merrittpr says...
9:50am Wed 1 Aug 12

I am watching the beach volleyball on telly, there is more atmosphere there in the ten minutes watching than there was for my 30 minute trip round the bayside car parking lot the other day!!

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Merrittpr says...
9:58am Wed 1 Aug 12

Went to the Square on Sunday and the band were playing at the Red Lion. Brilliant atmosphere with everyone drinking in the sunshine and swaying away. Ok you had to buy a beer but superb FREE entertainment. Anyone wonder why the Bayside event has fallen on its backside?!?!

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bollywood says...
10:54am Wed 1 Aug 12

Councillors need to take off those snpecs, admit they are wrong, open the roads to traffic keeping the esplande clear from King Street to Pavillion.
During the winter months clear the beach of the tacky take away and amusement dross that lowers the area. Weymouth has a lovely esplanade and beach and deserves so much better than lasers that don't do anything for the area and a factory chimney stuck on the end of the pier. Come on Councillors prove that you can do better

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Karen1972 says...
1:26pm Wed 1 Aug 12

I have booked 30 + tickets in advance for the bayside festival for visitors who are visiting us for 1 night, not interested in having tickets for other evening as they will be heading home.
On the subject of my visitors - I had to book them into a Wareham hotel as nobody in Weymouth would take my 2 night mid week booking for 38 people. This had to be booked in February latest due to arranging flights etc.

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dogboy1 says...
1:30pm Wed 1 Aug 12

In terms of the festival - I was offered free entry on Saturday whilst watching the battle for the winds, but declined to see the George Michael tribute. However went last night to the Motown tribute and it was fantastic. I know these are tribute acts but the quality of the music was fantastic and the atmosphere was great. I don't think a fiver is too much to pay for several hours of live music. Curiously the security were also the nicest I have ever met - all of them wishing us a good night on our way out! Also I used my bicycle so no worries re closed roads.
All I can say is get out there and have a look - as I regular whinger about Weymouth, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed the festivities.

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JamesYoung says...
2:13pm Wed 1 Aug 12

dogboy1 wrote:
In terms of the festival - I was offered free entry on Saturday whilst watching the battle for the winds, but declined to see the George Michael tribute. However went last night to the Motown tribute and it was fantastic. I know these are tribute acts but the quality of the music was fantastic and the atmosphere was great. I don't think a fiver is too much to pay for several hours of live music. Curiously the security were also the nicest I have ever met - all of them wishing us a good night on our way out! Also I used my bicycle so no worries re closed roads.
All I can say is get out there and have a look - as I regular whinger about Weymouth, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed the festivities.
The security staff at the Beach Live area are also very, very polite. I also don't think £5 is a lot to pay (although £25 starts to sound like a lot when you have 3 kids in tow and have to pay £5 for a bacon sandwich too). I think those who have worked or volunteered to help have done a fantastic job. I think the athletes are doing a fantastic job. I do think its sad that local bands were expected to play for free when tribute acts were paid. It's the officials and the council that have the questions to answer.

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guesthouseownerweymouth says...
2:15pm Wed 1 Aug 12

@manonthesilvermount
ain, we are charging our usual rate of £70 per night double room, we are 100 yards from th sea front and are 14th on trip advisor - we do not advertise on laterooms etc so perhaps your friends only looked on those sites. There are many B&B's that are not charging those sort of rates, it is only the minority ruining it for us all, please dont tar us all with the same brush and make assumptions based on a few. The ones who have charged that amount are probably on those booking sites who I believe are also encouraging them to put up their rates!

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guesthouseownerweymouth says...
2:20pm Wed 1 Aug 12

@karen1972, you would probably be hard pressed to find too many places that would have vacancies that could take 38 people, we run a B&B 100 yards from sea front and we certainly didnt have a call to see if we could take 10 of them, which we certainly would have at our normal rates! I do get annoyed when statements are made like that, without all the options being explored. Surely a blanket email to all B&B's would have sorted the problem, why on earth would they stay miles away when we have rooms as we speak! I also know many other B&B's that have vacancies in fact most of them, and only a few are charging higher prices. I spoke to the organiser of the bayside festival yesterday who said the same as you, but when enquiring further, his friends only went on the booking sites, not direct to B&B's. We do not advertise on these and nor do many B&B's because of the high commision charges!

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guesthouseownerweymouth says...
2:22pm Wed 1 Aug 12

dogboy1 wrote:
In terms of the festival - I was offered free entry on Saturday whilst watching the battle for the winds, but declined to see the George Michael tribute. However went last night to the Motown tribute and it was fantastic. I know these are tribute acts but the quality of the music was fantastic and the atmosphere was great. I don't think a fiver is too much to pay for several hours of live music. Curiously the security were also the nicest I have ever met - all of them wishing us a good night on our way out! Also I used my bicycle so no worries re closed roads.
All I can say is get out there and have a look - as I regular whinger about Weymouth, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed the festivities.
dogboy1 - totally agree, we also went and had a fantastic time - my hubbie didnt fancy it but thoroughly enjoyed it. We are looking at what other tribute acts we fancy now!

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Karen1972 says...
2:45pm Wed 1 Aug 12

guesthouseownerweymo
uth wrote:
@karen1972, you would probably be hard pressed to find too many places that would have vacancies that could take 38 people, we run a B&B 100 yards from sea front and we certainly didnt have a call to see if we could take 10 of them, which we certainly would have at our normal rates! I do get annoyed when statements are made like that, without all the options being explored. Surely a blanket email to all B&B's would have sorted the problem, why on earth would they stay miles away when we have rooms as we speak! I also know many other B&B's that have vacancies in fact most of them, and only a few are charging higher prices. I spoke to the organiser of the bayside festival yesterday who said the same as you, but when enquiring further, his friends only went on the booking sites, not direct to B&B's. We do not advertise on these and nor do many B&B's because of the high commision charges!
Yes i agree, I was looking at a number of options, such as putting 5 in 6 + B&B's as much better to offer them a local great seaside service from locals B&B. I used both booking.com and contacted a number of B&B's locally. I would have preferred to stay in weymouth as I will be paying out for 38 people to taxi in and out of Wareham at £30 each way is very expensive. Everytime we have visitors at work I would always book a B&B over a hotel and managed to book 22 rooms over a number of B&B's last year for a conference. It is a shame I had to pay such a huge deposit otherwise it would have been cost effective to cancel the hotel and move them into Weymout.

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Mark Probin says...
3:20pm Wed 1 Aug 12

guesthouseownerweymo
uth wrote:
@manonthesilvermount

ain, we are charging our usual rate of £70 per night double room, we are 100 yards from th sea front and are 14th on trip advisor - we do not advertise on laterooms etc so perhaps your friends only looked on those sites. There are many B&B's that are not charging those sort of rates, it is only the minority ruining it for us all, please dont tar us all with the same brush and make assumptions based on a few. The ones who have charged that amount are probably on those booking sites who I believe are also encouraging them to put up their rates!
Have you tried using 'google adwords' to create your own online advert.

Easy to set up, and you can claim a £50 voucher.

http://bit.ly/N1J7hf

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rebeccachurchill says...
3:24pm Wed 1 Aug 12

This "festival" is a complete and utter shambles. Myself and about 20 other people were employed for the duration of the festival to fill the roles of ticketing staff and litter pickers. I was a member of the ticketing staff team and have never seen so much disorganisation in my life. The organisers started off by selling tickets at the original prices, £5 for a festival pass and £10 for an arena pass, half price for children. They then decided they weren't getting enough customers and so went out into the streets giving out free tickets. The people who had already paid for their tickets got wind of this and understandably were upset, returning to demand a refund from us ticketing staff who had not been briefed on the situation and weren't really sure what to do. And that's just the start. Within the first two days of the festival, the prices of the tickets changed so many times that the situation became a bit of a joke between the ticketing staff and the security guards who had to stand and watch all of the mayhem happen. Clearly, the organisers of the event had not really thought through any of their decisions and had not put together a plan for if a lack of customers occurred. The decisions and changes that took place were so unprofessional that on one of the days I was stood just in front of the event encouraging people to buy a ticket, and whilst I was informing a lady that tickets were £5 or £10 each the organiser of the event ran over to tell us that they were now only £1 each. Following the substantial lack of customers and the amount of money that the event was losing, myself and the other ticketing staff and the litter pickers were pulled aside at the end of our second shift to be told that we were being stood down as the organisers couldn't afford to pay any of us. I have never been so gobsmacked in all my life. We had assumed that they might have to get rid of a few people as we'd already heard that at least three of the bar staff had been stood down that morning but we never imagined they'd get rid of the entire team. I am now struggling to understand how they're managing the event and how they're selling tickets and filtering customers through with no ticketing staff? And the worst bit was just after we'd all received the news and we were stood in the entrance tent getting ready to leave when Joe Hall, the organiser of the event, walked through the tent and didn't even have the decency to look at any of us, let alone apologise for what had happened or thank us for our efforts. We all worked extremely hard during the first two days of the festival, taking the brunt of the angry customers who wanted refunds due to their ridiculous decisions, and we've all lost about £800 in wages. Some of us have also turned down shifts at second jobs as we thought we had guaranteed employment at the festival until the 12th of August. I have to laugh as I keep seeing the event update their Facebook page with new ticket prices everyday, the last thing I heard before I left was that they were thinking of making it free for the remainder of the duration or that they might even have to shut it down as they're losing too much money. A complete disaster.

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vickg1250 says...
4:17pm Wed 1 Aug 12

To Rebecca Churchill and all the other staff who committed to their employment during this period to find themselves no longer needed - I say to those in charge and paid by the council or other funding bodies that when you receive your salaries (as no doubt you will) think long and very hard about the individuals affected by this poor management and ultimate lack of professionalism. Did no one ever consider a contingency plan or was everyone so puffed up and self congratulatory to be blind that this could happen? shame on you and I am ashamed to think the town I live in is having these issues when those in charge had 7 years to plan, market and advertise this event! What a bloody shame..........

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guesthouseownerweymouth says...
4:22pm Wed 1 Aug 12

so sorry this has happened to you however they cannot really be blamed, they are having to react to the demand for the tickets etc. They were told by LOCOG that they should expect an audience of around 9000 and this will not now materialise

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rebeccachurchill says...
4:36pm Wed 1 Aug 12

guesthouseownerweymo
uth wrote:
so sorry this has happened to you however they cannot really be blamed, they are having to react to the demand for the tickets etc. They were told by LOCOG that they should expect an audience of around 9000 and this will not now materialise
But do you not think they should have had a plan in place for if this happened? Any good events organiser would have had one.

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Yellowcave says...
6:18pm Wed 1 Aug 12

They only had to ask the locals.
If I remember correctly, just removing the free car parking years ago seriously affected the attendances at the pavilion events. This bayside arena is "miles" from any car parking or public transport. In a rural area this will affect attendances. If one was in a city with underground and overground covering all areas the effect would not be so noticeable, but these city people have no idea how we in the sticks struggle to survive.

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Mojomarty says...
8:19pm Wed 1 Aug 12

Moaning...what Weymouth does best.

Its crazy, we have been given one of the greatest opertunities that this little seaside town could have ever been givven and the wonderful wingers of Weymouth have done nothing but moan about it every step of they way. Yes somethings could have been done differently but it hasnt. With the Echo putting up such negative headlines every other day about the changes that have happened its no wonder people looking to visit the town to enjoy the olympic spirit have stayed away. One quick google search and no end of bad publicity written by people who should be supporting this historic event is right there to discourage people from visiting.

That being said, I was in town on Tuesday night and I have never seen the town look so alive on a weekday night, laser displays, lots of people enjoying the music on the peir, live comedian at the pavilion, live bands in the busy seafront pubs. It was really great to see.

So lets just enjoy what we have been given and work together to make the most of our town.

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Merrittpr says...
8:45pm Wed 1 Aug 12

I do not regard myself as a moaner just a reporter of facts that I see happening around town. I just think that with all the time the organisers have had its just a shambles how it's all turned out and a great shame. I feel for the people laid off at the Bayside Festival site, lost income that they have all budgeted for, and the fact that some of them turned down other work commitments (paid!)

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JamesYoung says...
11:46am Thu 2 Aug 12

Mojomarty wrote:
Moaning...what Weymouth does best.

Its crazy, we have been given one of the greatest opertunities that this little seaside town could have ever been givven and the wonderful wingers of Weymouth have done nothing but moan about it every step of they way. Yes somethings could have been done differently but it hasnt. With the Echo putting up such negative headlines every other day about the changes that have happened its no wonder people looking to visit the town to enjoy the olympic spirit have stayed away. One quick google search and no end of bad publicity written by people who should be supporting this historic event is right there to discourage people from visiting.

That being said, I was in town on Tuesday night and I have never seen the town look so alive on a weekday night, laser displays, lots of people enjoying the music on the peir, live comedian at the pavilion, live bands in the busy seafront pubs. It was really great to see.

So lets just enjoy what we have been given and work together to make the most of our town.
Blaming the moaners is missing the point. If you search this website you will find posts listing academic papers that stated that the so called benefits of hosting the Olympics can be illusory. People didn't come because people were never going to come. It is the so called positive spin that has done the damage - ie, convinced the tourists who would have come to stay away. I believe that Weymouth will lose money for the next few years now, because many people who always come to Weymouth will have found a new spot that they like. Experience from every other Olympic sailing venue has been pretty much the same. Go and read about it.

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rjimmer says...
4:19pm Thu 2 Aug 12

If the Olympics were to be turned into a business, why wasn't someone with business experience put in charge?

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satisfecho says...
8:12am Fri 3 Aug 12

JamesYoung wrote:
Mojomarty wrote:
Moaning...what Weymouth does best.

Its crazy, we have been given one of the greatest opertunities that this little seaside town could have ever been givven and the wonderful wingers of Weymouth have done nothing but moan about it every step of they way. Yes somethings could have been done differently but it hasnt. With the Echo putting up such negative headlines every other day about the changes that have happened its no wonder people looking to visit the town to enjoy the olympic spirit have stayed away. One quick google search and no end of bad publicity written by people who should be supporting this historic event is right there to discourage people from visiting.

That being said, I was in town on Tuesday night and I have never seen the town look so alive on a weekday night, laser displays, lots of people enjoying the music on the peir, live comedian at the pavilion, live bands in the busy seafront pubs. It was really great to see.

So lets just enjoy what we have been given and work together to make the most of our town.
Blaming the moaners is missing the point. If you search this website you will find posts listing academic papers that stated that the so called benefits of hosting the Olympics can be illusory. People didn't come because people were never going to come. It is the so called positive spin that has done the damage - ie, convinced the tourists who would have come to stay away. I believe that Weymouth will lose money for the next few years now, because many people who always come to Weymouth will have found a new spot that they like. Experience from every other Olympic sailing venue has been pretty much the same. Go and read about it.
Rubbish.

You and your 'academic papers' studies only appeared recently.

Long term, over the last few years the ECHO along with posters to these replies have done nothing but knock this town.

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Jello Biafra says...
10:24am Fri 3 Aug 12

Bay Festival No more!

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EtaoinShrdlu says...
12:06am Sun 5 Aug 12

Look like a gypsy camp to me. Put the bulldozers through.

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