A bold and potentially innovative proposal to radically change the venue and format of the Yorkshire Regional Championships has been put forward by a Sheffield based newspaper group.

Brass Festival partnership

Mercury newspapers and its Editor Andrew Platts, have offered to work in partnership with the Yorkshire Regional Committee to move the Championship away from its current venue at St George’s Hall in Bradford and to host it at Sheffield City Hall as part of a larger Brass Festival weekend.

Sponsorship

The proposal would see the current contesting format remain unchanged, but with added attractions such as a Gala Concert as well as workshops and masterclasses provided throughout the weekend to add interest and help attract additional sponsorship and prize money for the benefit of the competing bands.

Andrew plays bass trombone with the Stannington Band, and sees this as an ideal opportunity for the Yorkshire event to become more than just another regional contest.

I want to make clear however that this is not a proposal for an alternative contest, but one which will see us work in partnership with the Yorkshire Regional Committee..Andrew Platts

Special

"Yorkshire is the heartland of banding in the UK, and I feel there is an opportunity to work with the Yorkshire Committee to make it into something very special," he told 4BR.

"I want to make clear however that this is not a proposal for an alternative contest, but one which will see us work in partnership with the Yorkshire Regional Committee to provide the best possible venue, with the facilities to match, and which will see substantial benefits for the competing bands."

City of Culture

Andrew told 4BR that with the city of Sheffield currently on the short list for the award of the European City of Culture, the event would be seen as a major cultural attraction to the city.

The event would also benefit from the promotional expertise provided by the Sheffield International Venues organisation, which runs the hall as well as other iconic venues in the city such as the Don Valley Stadium and the English Institute of Sport.

Excellence

"There is a real desire to promote cultural excellence in the city," Andrew added.

"The Hall is a magnificent venue that can hold up to 2,500 people, whilst the adjoining Memorial Hall seats 500 and the Ballroom close to 1,000. There is room for the bands to warm up without disturbance, for the players to change in comfort and plenty of space for traders too. Parking arrangements can be easily sorted with Police and the local authority."

Benefit

Andrew believes the proposal would be of benefit to everyone involved in Yorkshire banding.

"By working together we can really project Yorkshire banding to the world at large. Increased media coverage is assured, major sponsorship can be attracted, and added value can be given with the opportunity for the top section winning band to perform at the following year’s Gala Concert, which we would envisage would also see truly international artists involved too."

Potential

To sum it all up, Andrew believes that there is a good case for moving the Yorkshire Regional Championships.

"It’s a great event, but as we saw this year it has the potential to become a truly fantastic one. Working together I believe that is a realistic aim – and it can be achieved in a very short space of time. We are serious about the proposals and we want to talk to Kapitol Promotions and the Yorkshire Regional Committee as soon as we possibly can."