Spring Festival Brass Band Contest Introduces Listener Wristbands for Players

The Mortimer family, owners of the British Open Championship, have announced further changes to the 2025 Spring Festival at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. In addition to recent rule changes surrounding borrowed players, a new initiative surrounding 'Listener' wristbands will be enforced at this year's contest.

Introduction of Listener Wristbands for Bandspeople

In previous contests, bandspeople have been able to gain entry to watch other bands at the contest using their 'Stage Performer' wristbands. These wristbands will continue to be distributed to to bandspeople, but only to facilitate the running of the contest. As in previous years all bandspeople will have to wear these wristbands in order to perform on stage. However, this year the wristbands will not enable bandspeople entry to listen to other performances in the Grand Shield, Senior Trophy and Senior Cup.

Instead, bands will be able to purchase up to 30 'Listener' wristbands at the cost of £5 each. Players will need to display both their 'Stage Performer' wristband and their 'Listener' wristband to gain entry into the auditoriums at the Winter Gardens to listen to other performances throughout the day.

A Question of Cost

To be honest, I'm in two minds about this decision. Speaking as a bander, bands already have to find the money for the entrance fee, the cost of the music (if they don't already own the test piece), travel to the contest and, in some cases, accommodation for the weekend. Being able to listen to other performances at no extra cost was the only free perk for the band.

My other concern is having to pay for a wristband may put off bandspeople from entering the hall and supporting other bands in the competition. We already have a problem with tribalism in British banding and we need to be encouraging the support of other performances and creating a supportive culture, similar to the culture in European contests and I don't think this is a positive step towards achieving that.

Furthermore, I want to know how this will effect bandspeople being allowed in to watch the results and contest secretaries who need to enter the venue for the draw and the results.

HOWEVER. And it's a big HOWEVER - that's why it's in capitals.

Looking at this situation from an organisational and financial position, we know that these contests cost a huge amount of money to organise and run. The Winter Gardens is a great venue to stage multiple contests simultaneously, but it is incredibly expensive.

As outlined in the correspondence to bands, the Mortimer family "is determined to develop the long-term future of the event based on sustainable financial and musical foundations." So it's fair to assume that these new 'Listener' wristbands have been introduce to help with the costs of this contest.

To that end I say fair enough - for now.

£5 is probably less than I spend on a post-contest pint in the bar at the Winter Gardens. It's less than I would spend on my lunch at one of the various fast food or restaurants around Blackpool. £5 and I get to see every remaining performance of the day across three sections - sounds like a fair deal to me. It's just one less pint on the day - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, given some of the rough mornings I've had after the Spring Festival, if you catch my drift.

More importantly, if £5 is what it costs to help safeguard the future of this contest, I'm willing to pay it. I've seen so many contests fold over the 20 years I've been playing and I would hate to wake up one day to the news that the Spring Festival has had to be changed drastically or has folded altogether due to costs.

Alternative Idea

I get that the cost of these wristbands go towards the cost of the venue. But could we not address the problem of bands playing to empty auditoriums and supporting the cost of the venue through keeping the free entry for banders and offering bands the opportunity to purchase up to 30 Listener wristbands for supporters of the band, i.e. family members, spouses.

I think non-banding audience members would be more likely to come along and support when they only have to pay £5, as opposed to the full price of a ticket and surely £5 in the coffers is better than said supporters not buying a ticket at all? Furthermore, you're targeting a demographic who hasn't had to play a test piece for four or five weeks and would be more likely to pay £5 to listen to it rather than targeting bandspeople who may not be so supportive of the idea of paying to listen to a test piece they've had to play.

So in short, if it's for the sake of supporting the contest itself and supporting the performances of other bands at the Spring Festival, I'm willing to part with £5 to give to my band to purchase a Listener wristband on my behalf. That said, if the model going forward is to place even more costs to bands and their bandspeople to keep this contest afloat then that is going to pose a problem. I guess we'll have to see what the future holds.