Summer Concerts 2022 - Brighton & Chichester

[Luckdragon]

The sales so far are not impressive... Do you think Libera plans on local people attending last minute ? Brighton and Chichester should be places where people will be going for the holidays...
I am a bit worried for Libera, and dearly hope there is no chance of cancelling, though if they do not have an audience it will be sad and will cost them a lot, right ?

Sadly, I think your concerns are justified. People tend to go to beach parties and barbecues in the evenings while on summer holiday. Boy choirs just don't seem to be in the mix.

Libera needs to find a way to bring their worldwide fan base into their concerts and their revenue stream. People aren't as eager to pack themselves into venues as they used to be.

[Surpinto]

The sales so far are not impressive... Do you think Libera plans on local people attending last minute ? Brighton and Chichester should be places where people will be going for the holidays...
I am a bit worried for Libera, and dearly hope there is no chance of cancelling, though if they do not have an audience it will be sad and will cost them a lot, right ?

Sadly, I think your concerns are justified. People tend to go to beach parties and barbecues in the evenings while on summer holiday. Boy choirs just don't seem to be in the mix.

Libera needs to find a way to bring their worldwide fan base into their concerts and their revenue stream. People aren't as eager to pack themselves into venues as they used to be.

But can we really blame them? This was only arranged at the last minute due to the cancellation of the tour to Korea. So they haven't had enough time to advertise the concert or to increase attendance. But more importantly, this is just as much about the choristers having live concert experiences, as it is about attracting audiences. From this perspective I'm doubtful that there will be a cancellation; and there ought not be.

Not to say that I'm unconcerned about attendance figures given that they will likely not recoup the costs of the orchestra, lighting, and venue rental

[theriverflowson]

I've never been to Brighton or Chichester before, but at least Brighton as a seaside resort appears to be a famous spot for domestic tourists during this time of the year. The availability of accommodations in Chichester is very low as well. If Libera would be able to advertise the concerts with many, many posters and flyers in the tourist areas of both cities, I'm hopeful that we will see a significant number of spontaneous visitors!

By the way, Libera's e-mail from Monday with the concert announcement was the first message if have received from them since I registered for the mailing list almost two years ago. Hope it helped

[bachmahlerfan]

I'm just glad they can have more opportunities to perform live concerts. The venues don't seem ideal for maximum attendance in these circumstances, but that might be the best they could do with limited time for planning. Things are going to become more difficult for Libera and other performing groups in the near future, so we need to do everything we can to help Libera stay afloat. Maybe a donor will step up and give them a blank check, but it's more likely that they'll have to rely on smaller contributions from many fans.

[LordG]

By the way, Libera's e-mail from Monday with the concert announcement was the first message if have received from them since I registered for the mailing list almost two years ago. Hope it helped

Same here, I've never received an e-mail from them. But still, it's too late to get a good seat.

I would have preferred to be informed about concerts in advance. This e-mail is a desperate attempt
to get more visitors to the concerts. For international fans, this announcement comes too late.

[Netnutter]

Not good news for Chichester. Southern trains that serve Chichester will be heavily affected by the strike. However, South Western trains are not listed as being generally affected by the ASLEF union. If you can get to Portsmouth, or even better Havant station, Stagecoach run a bus service (Route 700) that goes to Chichester. Those going from Brighton can also get the 700, although they will need to change at Littlehampton. The buses are double decker and have air con. The other alternative is to get to Chichester the day before and stay until Sunday. Make a weekend of it.

[Celtic]

Heads up for those coming for the summer concerts. There is a strike by some train operators on the 30th July. Not all operators are striking currently and there isn't full information yet about what services will be affected, but worth checking a few days before you travel.

Not good news for Chichester. Southern trains that serve Chichester will be heavily affected by the strike. However, South Western trains are not listed as being generally affected by the ASLEF union. If you can get to Portsmouth, or even better Havant station, Stagecoach run a bus service (Route 700) that goes to Chichester. Those going from Brighton can also get the 700, although they will need to change at Littlehampton. The buses are double decker and have air con. The other alternative is to get to Chichester the day before and stay until Sunday. Make a weekend of it.

Where did you get the information about Southern from?

The last I saw Southern would be heavily affected by the RMT trike on the 27th. But not by the ASLEF strike on the 30th??

[Netnutter]

I'm just glad they can have more opportunities to perform live concerts. The venues don't seem ideal for maximum attendance in these circumstances, but that might be the best they could do with limited time for planning. Things are going to become more difficult for Libera and other performing groups in the near future, so we need to do everything we can to help Libera stay afloat. Maybe a donor will step up and give them a blank check, but it's more likely that they'll have to rely on smaller contributions from many fans.

I agree. After 2 years of not being able to perform, Libera needs us more than ever. I can understand the international travellers finding the extreme costs being a hurdle and even those worried about the rail strikes. But those that are complaining about the ticket sales and who say they won't be going unless they can get a great seat need to ask themselves why. To me, Libera is about the music and their unique sound. You will be able to hear that, wherever you sit. So what if you don't have a perfect view?

Libera needs our support. They need these ticket sales. If they lose money on these concerts then that will have a knock on affect for future concerts. And yes, if I could write them a blank cheque I would. But for now, every contribution from their fans is important. So, if you can go, be a fan and go.

[Netnutter]

Heads up for those coming for the summer concerts. There is a strike by some train operators on the 30th July. Not all operators are striking currently and there isn't full information yet about what services will be affected, but worth checking a few days before you travel.

Not good news for Chichester. Southern trains that serve Chichester will be heavily affected by the strike. However, South Western trains are not listed as being generally affected by the ASLEF union. If you can get to Portsmouth, or even better Havant station, Stagecoach run a bus service (Route 700) that goes to Chichester. Those going from Brighton can also get the 700, although they will need to change at Littlehampton. The buses are double decker and have air con. The other alternative is to get to Chichester the day before and stay until Sunday. Make a weekend of it.

Where did you get the information about Southern from?

The last I saw Southern would be heavily affected by the RMT trike on the 27th. But not by the ASLEF strike on the 30th??

Oops. Sorry. My mistake. I was getting my unions mixed up. So much chaos, I can't keep up. You are correct. Southern should be OK.

[theriverflowson]

Not good news for Chichester. Southern trains that serve Chichester will be heavily affected by the strike.

Do you have a source for this? I'm not familiar with the railway network. Is Southern part of ASLEF? On the Southern website I can only find a notice about a reduced service on July 27 and the morning of July 28.

EDIT: Took me too long to write my posting, glad to hear it might be false alert

[bachmahlerfan]

I'm just glad they can have more opportunities to perform live concerts. The venues don't seem ideal for maximum attendance in these circumstances, but that might be the best they could do with limited time for planning. Things are going to become more difficult for Libera and other performing groups in the near future, so we need to do everything we can to help Libera stay afloat. Maybe a donor will step up and give them a blank check, but it's more likely that they'll have to rely on smaller contributions from many fans.

I agree. After 2 years of not being able to perform, Libera needs us more than ever. I can understand the international travellers finding the extreme costs being a hurdle and even those worried about the rail strikes. But those that are complaining about the ticket sales and who say they won't be going unless they can get a great seat need to ask themselves why. To me, Libera is about the music and their unique sound. You will be able to hear that, wherever you sit. So what if you don't have a perfect view?

Libera needs our support. They need these ticket sales. If they lose money on these concerts then that will have a knock on affect for future concerts. And yes, if I could write them a blank cheque I would. But for now, every contribution from their fans is important. So, if you can go, be a fan and go.

I should add that continuing to make Libera known to others who you can reach online or in person is also important, and may be the best way to support them for some people. Not everyone is in a position to make financial contributions right now. I think most people realize this, but I don't want people who are not financially well off to feel guilty for not contributing more.

[Padmachou]

Sooooo... it's unclear Should I get worried about the train connexion between London and Chichester on the 30th, or not ?

[Yorkie]

Sooooo... it's unclear Should I get worried about the train connexion between London and Chichester on the 30th, or not ?

I believe trains from London to Chichester are run by Southern Railways. It seems Southern/RMT Union have a strike on Wednesday 27th July which may impact services on Thursday morning as well. Nothing is mentioned about the Saturday so you should be ok.

There is a separate strike on 30th July by train drivers of different train companies but that does not seem to include Southern Railways from what I can see.

[filiarheni]

By the way, Libera's e-mail from Monday with the concert announcement was the first message if have received from them since I registered for the mailing list almost two years ago. Hope it helped

Same here, I've never received an e-mail from them. But still, it's too late to get a good seat.

I would have preferred to be informed about concerts in advance. This e-mail is a desperate attempt
to get more visitors to the concerts. For international fans, this announcement comes too late.

Well, I would never only miss out a concert, because I didn't manage to get a "good" seat. The experience shows that there's last minute ticket sale among the fans just the very day of the concert; so even with a bad ticket there is always a chance to upgrade. I was very unlucky once and had a seat in the unbelievably unimaginable row M. Finally, where I landed was row C.

Speaking of seats, I still have one seat for each concert, if someone is interested?
That is 2nd row (seat B12) for Brighton, and 4th row (seat G8) for Chichester. Both are almost at the aisle.

The sales so far are not impressive... Do you think Libera plans on local people attending last minute ? Brighton and Chichester should be places where people will be going for the holidays...
I am a bit worried for Libera, and dearly hope there is no chance of cancelling, though if they do not have an audience it will be sad and will cost them a lot, right ?

Never ever they will cancel. They have had so little possibilities to perform that they certainly will not let these chances pass by, in their own country, so travel cost are not too heavy. Who knows how the pandemic will develop and when the next concert opportunity will really be? And there's always hope go get more audience. I know of Libera fans who did their own advertisement in their hotel on the Channel Islands tour - with success!

[bachmahlerfan]

I'm still expecting them to sing Saint-Saens's "Bacchanale". I will demand it until the day I die, or until someone can convince me that it was merely a typo in the concert description from the Ely Cathedral website.