Sir Lenny Henry on UK festivals.

I don't think people are annoyed; they can't quite see the point of his comments.

Why are people so annoyed about this?

Lenny Henry made a comment in an interview which is probably true and people are bristling. I haven't read the article or seen the interview so I don't think its right to comment. So, I can't see if he was saying it was a problem, but in what we've seen there's no suggestions of discrimination and Sir Lenny can say anything he likes. Same as Sir Billy. And neither of them needs to "watch out".

CaravanSerai

Thank you, I’ll have a look at that later. There’s an interesting 2021 DEFRA report on barriers to rural areas and green space, and the CPRE have done some work around ethnicity and access. Shockingly, only 1% of visitors to UK National Parks are by BME people.

The funny thing is they put a photo up, of what looked like Glastonbury, by the side of the article ( not sure where I read it) and there were some girls at the front who looked mixed race , (please don't pull me up on my terminology) . I was not even aware of who went to these big festivals but should he not be asking the people of colour why they are not going? Is because they don't like that type of music? which I can't see as there is always a good mix of artists , financial , again I can't see that as 80℅ are students of which there are plenty of students of colour. I would say Brixton festival is always 75% people of colour and at one time you would see very few white faces at that so perhaps it is just a culture thing. I think Lenny Henry better watch out is he turning into another Billy Connolly and pontificating about things rather than doing what he is good at.

I think there are huge racial divides in the entertainment business, not just in festivals. I remember watching a programme about black British comedians which included some clips from live gigs. The audience was almost entirely black. White comedians tend to have audiences which are predominantly white. There are a few people who work both communities but not many.

Sorry if the Ed Sheeran was misleading, but Glastonbury has gone up from £5 to £248
www.vouchercodes.co.uk/press/infographics/glastonbury-ticket-prices-over-time#:~:text=VoucherCodes%20has%20taken%20a%20look,cost%20just%20%C2%A35%20each!
Of course middle class and middle aged people can enjoy music. It's not a question of that but of whole sections of society being priced out from enjoying live music.

Surely it's related to the type of music on offer? I'm going to one on Saturday where it's likely the audience will be diverse because the music genre and the musicians are as well.

To even be successful in getting a ticket is something they sell out as soon as the booking is open. I have never given much thought to the fans at the festival in regard of ethnicity, I have not been to Glastonbury myself as never have been able to get a ticket. Stormsy has appeared there and he appeals to many fans of white brown black skin I never think of colour being black/white it is not as clear cut as that.
I like Sir Lenny he is a funny man liked it when he was with Dawn French they made a good couple. I hope he is just not getting old and grumpy in his ways and looking for something that is not there.

Here's most of the lineup - something for everyone I would have imagined:

There's nothing wrong with finding out why one group or another doesn't attend activities of any sort, and using the information to try to attract them. That's why so many venues (and other organisations) have Diversity questionnaires. I have no idea why black people might not go to festivals, but if the organisers don't know either, but then find out that their advertising or marketing isn't working, they can tweak it to ensure that all relevant groups are reached.

Just because someone comments on something like this doesn't mean that they are criticising; and deliberately trying to attract one under-represented group doesn't imply that another already represented one is 'not allowed' to attend.

(*easybee*, I am also finding LH increasingly tiresome. I get that he's grown up since TisWas, and wants to be taken seriously, but he's becoming another of those celebrities who thinks they are experts on everything.)

GrannyGravy13

Callistemon21

Ticket prices for one concert cannot be compared to, for example, Glasonbury ticket prices which offer a range of acts over five days.

Totally agree,I was replying to Glorianny

Yes, I realised and comparing ordinary seats to box seats doesn't give a true picture.

The equivalent of £3 in 1970 is about £49 now.

The price of the tickets make it unavailable to a lot of lower wages earners
He is correct if you go to Glastonbury there are very few ethnic minority faces in the crowd It is a white middle class young to middle age persons festival
The price of food at festivals is pure extortion
Then again it could be the music that doesn’t attract

Would be an interesting thesis for a Uni student to undertake

I like Lenny Henry I think he’s a good bloke

Callistemon21

Ticket prices for one concert cannot be compared to, for example, Glasonbury ticket prices which offer a range of acts over five days.

Totally agree,I was replying to Glorianny

Ticket prices for one concert cannot be compared to, for example, Glasonbury ticket prices which offer a range of acts over five days.

Glorianny

Glastonbury has become middle aged, middle class people spending a few days trying to pretend they are still young. You need money to afford any festivals or concerts these days. Tickets to see David Bowie in the 1970s around about £3 Tickets to see Ed Sheeran at Wembley 2022 £300+
He should be asking what happened to music any one could afford?

I have just looked on ticketmaster and Ed Sheehan tickets Wembley lowest price is £54.00.

£300 are top of the range box seats.

Ticket touts will sell tickets for whatever they think they will get but lots of artists and their management are cracking down in touts and preventing re-sales

Glastonbury has become middle aged, middle class people spending a few days trying to pretend they are still young

Why is enjoying live music to be confined to the young?

I din understand what he was trying to say.

Zonne I recommend people read Foot Notes - Black and White Thinking by Guy Kennaway and Hussein Sharif

When Guy Kennaway, 63, a white, middle class, overweight, English, Tory-voting writer met Hussein Sharif, 22, an African-born, inner city, Tory-hating Muslim, they assumed they had little in common. But newly related by marriage, they decided to go on a walk through Britain to get to know each other. Guy’s mission was to explain to Hussein how wonderful British life and culture was, and Hussein’s was to describe to Guy the realities of life as a young black Muslim in Britain in 2019.

At the outset, Hussein (from Tottenham) said Rambling was white people's sh** alongside thing like rockclimbing and skiing and keeping dangerous pets.

There's an article on PressReader titled Rambling About Racism with Clare Balding which tells a little bit about Kennaway's and Sharif's story.

Note, if you read the article, how unfriendly even hostile people are when they encounter a black man walking Offa's Dyke.

I didn’t realise until this week that Lenny Henry started his career on the Black & White Minstrel Show and had to black-up as it was called then.

How times have changed in my lifetime, mostly for the good.

Aren’t middle aged middle class people allowed to go to events too?

Glastonbury has become middle aged, middle class people spending a few days trying to pretend they are still young. You need money to afford any festivals or concerts these days. Tickets to see David Bowie in the 1970s around about £3 Tickets to see Ed Sheeran at Wembley 2022 £300+
He should be asking what happened to music any one could afford?

It didn`t come across as harsh to me GrannyGravy13.
I am getting fed up with Lenny Henry and his comments about everything to do with black/white people.
We all choose where to go to be entertained.

I am finding Lenny Henry increasingly tiresome.

He’s also plugging his new TV series.

The interesting point, surely, is why this is the case?

The argument 'open to all' often isn't helpful in determining whether there are structural or cultural issues at play, and, if so, the extent to which that is impeding access.

The same discussion, for example, has been playing out for some time in relation to access to the countryside. In theory, it's open to everyone. In practice, it's clear that it is not open equally to everyone, for a variety of socio-economic factors.