Scarborough Open Air Theatre celebrates record-breaking summer with plans for 2025

Thousands of people enjoy shows at Scarborough Open Air Theatre each summer
-Credit: (Image: CUFFE & TAYLOR/Scarborough Open Air Theatre)


Scarborough Open Air Theatre's summer concert series closed on a high note, marking the venue's most prosperous season ever and contributing millions to the local economy.

The TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre 2024 festivities concluded over the weekend with pop-rock trio Busted drawing the final curtain. A staggering 114,000 tickets were snapped up for the 18 headline shows this summer at the North Yorkshire hotspot.

The coastal resort saw an array of stars grace its stage, with performances by the likes of Jess Glynne, Simple Minds, Anne-Marie, Fatboy Slim, Paul Weller, Deacon Blue, Korn, Becky Hill, Tom Jones, Madness, James, and comedian Bill Bailey.

For the second consecutive year, Scarborough's 8,000-seat outdoor arenaUK's largest dedicated outdoor concert spacehas outdone itself following last year's sales of 104,000 tickets. Predictions suggest that the local economy could see a windfall between £6m and £8m due to the 2024 series at the council-owned venue.

Cuffe and Taylor, the team managing the annual gig roster, has already started orchestrating plans for the 2025 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Julian Murray, Cuffe and Taylor's music programmer for the Scarborough OAT, reflected: "What an incredible summer here at this special venue. We have welcomed more acts and more music fans than ever before and the shows will live long in the memory.", reports Yorkshire Live.

"This summer's concert series has undoubtedly provided a welcome boost to the local economy with many gig goers coming here from across the UK and beyond. Just one example is Korn's show in August which saw 80 per cent of the 8,000-strong audience travelling here from outside the YO postcode area. This not only helped fill local hotels and restaurants, but undoubtedly brought people to Scarborough, and the beautiful Yorkshire coast, for the first time."

"We are now well on with our planning for next year and we cannot wait to announce the first of our headliners for 2025 very soon."

Almost 800,000 people have attended live shows at Scarborough OAT since it was refurbished and reopened to the public in 2010. Research shows, on average, 60 per cent of people who attend shows at Scarborough OAT travel from outside the borough, with many staying overnight locally, bringing a multi-million benefit to the local economy.

North Yorkshire Council's executive member for culture and leisure, councillor Simon Myers, stated: "The popularity of the Open Air Theatre is growing year on year bringing thousands of people into the town and the county, which is a great boost to the local economy. We are now looking forward to another record-breaking year in 2025."

As more information becomes available about next year's events, we'll keep you updated.

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