Sheffield City Hall: All the gigs coming up as Sheffield City Trust set to hand back control of venue in 2024

Sheffield City Trust, which manages 17 venues across the region including Ponds Forge, Sheffield Arena and the English Institute of Sport, narrowly avoided bankruptcy today after receiving a £7m bailout from the council.

The not-for-profit organisation – formerly known as Sheffield International Venues – will now provisionally hand over control to the city council in August 2024.

It comes after years of financial struggles at the trust, in which time it has kept afloat with millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

What does Sheffield City Trust announcement mean for shows at Sheffield City Hall?

One of the venues under Sheffield City Trust’s care is Sheffield City Hall on Barker’s Pool, which hosts dozens of live music concerts and stand up comedy shows throughout the year.

The council is yet to confirm if the situation means any shows and gigs at the trust’s City Hall and Arena venues are at risk of being scrapped.

Should that happen, and there is currently no indication it will, that would be especially unlucky for some events after also being postponed or cancelled during the Covid-19 restrictions of the past two years.

What shows are coming up at Sheffield City Hall?

World famous musicians, artists and bands have been booked for Sheffield City Hall in the coming months.

Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley and the Eagles’ Paul Carrack are set to perform this week on March 16 and March 19 respectively.

Songwriter James Morrison is appearing on April 1 for his Greatest Hits tour.

Disney lovers are set to see Toy Story in Concert on April 5, where the classic Pixar film is scored by a live orchestra.

Meanwhile, 80s legend Adam Ant is booked for June 22 as part of his Antics 2022 performance, and Ronan Keating is coming to Sheffield on June 28 for his All The Hits Tour.

And at Christmas time, Leona Lewis will make an appearance on December 14 for her Christmas With Love UK tour.

Many stand-up comedy shows are also looking uncertain.

After weeks of debate about whether Jimmy Carr should perform at City Hall for his Terribly Funny tour on March 26, it’s possible the show will be called off all on its own.

Stewart Lee is booked for his Snowflake/Tornado tour on March 26, which itself was postponed in 2020 due to coronavirus.

Comedian Joe Lycett is set for a three-night show in April, while podcaster Ed Gamble was due to appear on April 19. Mock the Week star Milton Jones is booked for May 18 for his Milton: Impossible tour, followed by Ed Byrne’s ‘If I’m Honest...’ tour on May 25.

Other comedians with dates in Sheffield include Dylan Moran on May 29, Alan Carr in early June and Jack Dee on June 12. Sandy Toksvig is also performing on June 17.

Other acts include a performance of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series Two on April 9, an evening with Ranulph Fiennes on June 29 on his Living Dangerously tour, and six viewings of children’s stage show Zog and the Flying Doctors in late July.