Lucrative Lindisfarne Gospels Generate £8.3 Million
The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition, which closed just before the start of Michaelmas Term, managed to generate an impressive £8.3 million for the local economy.
Clearly the strong publicity campaign worked as the exhibition brought in a hefty sum for Durham businesses.
Owing to the immense popularity of the exhibition, which displayed one of the finest examples of Hiberno-Saxon art known to man, Durham’s shops, hotels and food establishments experienced a massive boost.
Created by the community of St Cuthbert on Lindisfarne, the gospels attracted just under 100,000 people from 52 different countries, with the exhibition at full capacity in its final few days.
The organisers of the experience praised the knowledgeable and obliging shopkeepers for their help, which undoubtedly ensured those extra sales.
Bobby Sheen, of Warm Sanctuary in Claypath, said ‘The Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition has given us such a fantastic opportunity to showcase the City and the people within it.’
Perhaps the money could go back to the shops and small businesses of Durham, which suffered during this year’s Lumiere, for which Durham County Council apologised.