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North East takes it all from Mamma Mia

Hit musical Mamma Mia! is expected to pump £4.5m into the economy when it runs at the Metro Radio Arena later this year.

More than 35,000 tickets have been snapped up so far, making it the fastest-selling Mamma Mia! International Tour set of shows ever in the UK. The musical is at the Arena from December 12 to January 10 for its only UK dates this year.

Colin Revel, executive director of the Arena, said: “We are very pleased with how sales have gone.

“We have had inquiries from a number of coach companies, planning to bring loads of people to the area to shop during the day and then enjoy the show at night.”

Mamma Mia!, based on the songs of Abba, has broken box office records around the world and has been seen by more than 32 million people.

Andrew Dixon, chief executive of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said it gave the show’s promoters £10,000 to help towards marketing as they were so ‘confident’ they would get it back.

He said: “We know that the arena regularly attracts a number of visitors from outside of the North East region. The average spend here per head is estimated at about £100 per day. It’s great news. We have moved from being a place that was always closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to a place that is open 365 days a year.”

Ross Smith, head of policy and research with the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “I think the way the North East has established itself as a real cultural venue has been hugely beneficial to the region’s economy. This is one example of that and we have seen already in Sunderland with tickets for Oasis and Take That this summer bringing people from outside the region to discover what the North East has to offer.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .