Nature’s bounty: National Geographic Symphony gives boost to Limerick economy

MORE than half of the tickets sold for the National Geographic Symphony spectacle at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds came from outside the region and it has been claimed that the economic impact was in the millions for the city. 

The Mayor of Limerick City and County has also said that a refundable €150,000 council loan to the Gaelic Grounds, to host the National Geographic Symphony spectacle, was money well spent.

Mayor James Collins said he is now urging the council to continue with this special contribution to help promoters secure major acts in Limerick.

The Fianna Fail councillor said the idea was borne out of meetings with local stakeholders and businesspeople, after Limerick city “was ignored by Ed Sheeran” on his nationwide tour this year.

“This was money well spent, and now we want to continue that progress by bringing more major events to Limerick. The idea from the very beginning was that the sum made available by the Council to the National Geographic Concert would be recycled into this fund to promote other major concerts and events for the city,” said Mayor Collins.

“The success of the National Geographic concert was an important statement about where this city stands on culture, on the environment, and on business,” he said.

And the Gaelic Grounds management are confident that the door is open for other major events in the future, following last Saturday’s musical extravaganza.

It was the first ever major concert to be staged at the Ennis Road stadium, attracting upwards of 8,000 awestruck spectators.

Ticketmaster figures released by the organisers - local production company CWB - show that 20% of ticket sales came from outside Ireland, with 30% of domestic ticket sales also coming from outside the Mid-West, resulting in 50% of the overall sales for the show coming from outside the region.

Using the Ticketmaster multiplier effect, the organisers have said the economic boost for the city over the course of the weekend was estimated to be in excess of €4.5 million.

The thousands in attendance were serenaded by the 80-strong orchestra who were accompanied by the Limerick Chamber Choir, performing to authentic National Geographic footage on some of the continent’s largest high definition screens.

Gaelic Grounds chairperson Paul Foley said that the success of the concert means that “the door is opened for further large-scale events” at the grounds in the future.

He said that the idea of a large scale concert had been mooted for a number of years, but the biggest challenge had been securing acts to perform at the venue.

He said Limerick production company CWB was central to the performance, and also to the All-Ireland final screening and homecoming in late August.

“We learned a lot during the year of City of Culture, and Limerick does have a real interest in these sort of events, and it was great to see that manifested again through the National Geographic show on Saturday night.

“It means we have been able to demonstrate such a show can be delivered and, in fact, this is the third large scale ticketed event delivered at the Gaelic Grounds this year, over six weeks,” he said.

Conductor Kevin Zakresky took social media by storm for leading the orchestra while donning the green and white Limerick jersey for the entire performance.

Definitely a concert to remember! Thank you Limerick for being such a great audience! @NatGeo #nationalgeographicsymphony

— Kevin Zakresky (@kevinzakresky) October 4, 2018

Mr Foley said that the wearing of the jersey “was a really nice touch”.

He added that the orchestra and personnel thoroughly enjoyed their experience in Limerick.

“They were very, very positive about Limerick. They stayed in Limerick over the last few days. They were very, very positive about the city and the reaction of the crowd. They had great fun,” he said.

Meg Calnan of National Geographic said: “I was thrilled to be part of Symphony for Our World’s European premiere, experiencing the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd as they took in National Geographic’s iconic imagery coupled with an original symphony.

“It was inspiring to see so many people passionate about National Geographic gather in the wonderful city of Limerick for the occasion. Seeing, firsthand, our symphony performed in an Irish sports stadium is an experience I will never forget.”

Paul Boland of CWB said: “We knew that Limerick had the infrastructure to host a European premiere of such a caliber and scale.

“The support of Limerick Councils, Limerick GAA and the residents paid off in magnitude, emphasising that Limerick City should not be overlooked for largescale outdoor concerts.”

Cllr James Collins praised the event as a “triumph”, noting the significant economic impact to the region.

“As part of my work on concerts, I have met the head of Festivals and Events for Failte Ireland,” said the mayor.

“We are working on getting more funding for major festivals in Limerick. Progress has been made and I am confident that we will soon deliver further major events which entertain and will also help hotels, bars and businesses throughout the city,” he added.