Leicester’s Springer show was a financial catastrophe

Leicester City Council and the city’s De Montfort Hall made a £50,000 loss in staging the blasphemous show, Jerry Springer the Opera, official records show. Despite slashing the price of tickets and giving over thirteen hundred away for free, the Hall was more than three quarters empty during the week-long run.

The show portrays Jesus as a nappy-wearing fetishist and says Mary was raped by God.

The Christian Institute used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain details of attendance and ticket sales for the controversial production. According to Leicester City Council records:

1. The total number of people attending the show was 2,813 (Approximately 12,000 seats were available – meaning the theatre was more than three quarters empty).The total number of tickets sold at full value was 907.The total number of tickets given away free was 1,343 – almost 50% of the total attendance.
2. The losses sustained by the Council and De Montfort Hall in staging and promoting Jerry Springer the Opera will be around £50,000.

Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, said: “The sheer number of tickets given away for free across these performances appears to show a degree of desperation to get people to attend. The figures prove that people in Leicester don’t want to see an abusive, anti-Christian hate show. On the opening night, more than 85% of those attending got in for free. At a time when local services are under great pressure, the Council and the De Montfort Hall have blown £50,000 on a controversial show that few want to see.”