By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
A campaign group which has been calling for the quick reopening of Nottingham Castle hopes “reasonable pricing” will continue after a £1 Eurovision screening was announced.
In March Nottingham City Council approved plans to begin to reopen the historic site with a series of preview events beginning in May, with the ultimate aim of completely reopening the gates in June.
The landmark museum closed in November after the Nottingham Castle Trust announced it was going into liquidation just 18 months after a £33m revamp.
The site was handed back to the Labour-run council, which has been under pressure from city residents and the campaign group, Open the Gates!, ever since.
A live-streaming of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will take place at the Castle on Saturday, May 6, and the site’s second preview event has since been announced.
The Eurovision Song Contest final, which is being held in Liverpool, will also be streamed live in the Castle grounds on Saturday, May 13.
Tickets will cost £1.
The Open the Gates! campaign group, which has been calling for free entry into the Castle grounds, welcomed the news.
Tom Unterrainer, of the campaign group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It’s great the Castle is again being used for special events like this and it’s good that the tickets are reasonably priced.
“Lets hope it continues and lets hope the council does the right thing and ensures that future ticket prices do not exclude people from the Castle.”
The council says Nottingham will be an official BBC broadcast partner for the Eurovision final.
The event will be streamed on a giant screen measuring 28 metres-squared, with a concert-quality sound system, and the visitor centre will be selling food and drinks.
Nottingham is one of several UK cities now confirmed to host an official Eurovision screening, with funding for the event coming from the Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The £1 fee will cover costs of the booking process, the council says.
Nigel Hawkins, Head of Culture and Libraries at Nottingham City Council, said: “It is very exciting that Nottingham is one of the UK cities hosting an official Eurovision screening.
“The castle grounds will be a great venue for the celebrations, and we’re delighted that we can open the gates for this event before fully re-opening the castle to the public in June.”
Up to £2.13m has been earmarked for Nottingham Castle’s reopening plan over financial years of 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The council is also seeking to determine how best to run the site in the future, including keeping it in-house or outsourcing the running of the site to the private sector.
Ticket prices will be “better”, according to Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis (Lab), the portfolio holder for leisure, culture and planning, however pricing is yet to be announced.
Tickets for the Eurovision screening will go on sale at 10am on Friday, April 14.
