Press release -
Out of this world review for the Usher Hall
Its 100-year-career boasts sell out shows from the Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash and Ella Fitzgerald - but the real stars of the Usher Hall can be found off stage.
Staff at Edinburgh’s flagship music venue are celebrating a 5* review for the sixthyear in a row from Scotland’s national tourism body, VisitScotland. The grading cements the Usher Hall’s status as the only 5* concert hall in Scotland.
Astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, who hosted a lecture about life in space as part of the Usher Hall's Unique Lives lecture series (20 January), helped staff to celebrate and reach for the stars.
The prestigious review follows anonymous visits from VisitScotland inspectors, who praised the council-owned venue’s exceptional facilities, acoustics and the customer service provided by staff.
The Usher Hall sells 220,000 tickets a year and boasts another packed line up for 2017 featuring Kraftwerk, Nicola Benedetti, Seasick Steve, Anastacia, Elbow and Emeli Sandé. It will be a key venue for the Edinburgh International Festival’s celebrations this summer for the 70th anniversary of Edinburgh, The Festival City.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener, said:
"Yet again, the Usher Hall is recognised as one of Scotland's leading arts venues. As the proud home of the first ever Edinburgh International Festival concert in 1947, we are gearing up for a sensational year marking the 70th anniversary of the Festival city this summer.
"With several sell-out events for the year ahead it is no surprise the venue continues to exceed expectations. This stellar achievement is very well deserved and is testament to the dedication of the entire culture team. They are the real stars of our Usher Hall stage.”
Karl Chapman, General Manager of the Usher Hall, added:
"We continue to welcome some of the world's greatest artists and we've been working hard to ensure our customer service matches the standard set on stage. This glowing review proves we're still giving our audiences a 5 Star Experience. I am very proud of the hard work put in by everyone backstage and front of house."
Manuela Calchini, Regional Director at VisitScotland, said:
"The Usher Hall's retention of its 5 star status is a fantastic achievement and not only a sign for visitors of an exceptional venue but an endorsement for staff of the high quality experience they deliver to customers.
"Developed and improved for over 30 years, VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance schemes are world-leading and provide a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. The Scottish capital is home to some fantastic venues and this Quality Assurance award marks out the Usher Hall as one of the very best."
Find out what's on at the Usher Hall in 2017 at www.usherhall.co.uk
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- edinburgh
- usher hall
- quality assurance
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
