Bournemouth Pier has a short message for everyone during the Coronavirus lock down.

A video by Mattia Sitaglia shot on the 4th April shows an eerie and empty Bournemouth as the Coronavirus lockdown continues.

Generous ticket holders have donated more than £8,000 to Lighthouse since Poole’s centre for the arts closed its doors last week in line with the country-wide closure of venues and other measures to stop the spread on COVID-19.

As efforts continue to reschedule shows that have been postponed or cancelled Lighthouse is contacting ticket holders who are able to choose between a full refund, a credit note or to donate all or some of the cost of their tickets to the venue. Of the first 500 customers to reply to the email they received, 116 offered a full donation and a further 84 offered to split a donation with a refund or credit note.

“Lighthouse audiences are absolutely amazing; we cannot be more grateful," says Chief Executive Elspeth McBain. “Their support is as unprecedented as the times we are living in and as our incredible staff continue to work really hard in response to the virus emergency, we have been genuinely humbled by people’s goodwill.  Most of our income comes from ticket sales and the money our audiences spend when they come to Lighthouse and without shows there are no audiences. We're working hard to reschedule lost performances, but we're a small team and that will take some time so we ask our customers to please bear with us, we will be in touch. Meanwhile, we are truly grateful for this phenomenal generosity.” 

All ticket holders are being contacted by email or phone and of those contacted by phone, more than £500 was donated in the first two days alone.  

Adds Elspeth: “In troubled times it’s a natural response to turn to the creative arts and although we must all lead quite different lives for the time being, I look forward to the time when we can welcome our audiences back to Lighthouse – what a happy day that will be.”  

Lighthouse Ticket Office staff that have been phoning ticket holders have been moved to tears by some of the responses they have received.  

“People have been incredibly understanding and it’s fair to say some of the team have found it quite emotional,” says Ticket Sales Manager Steve Lambert. “Although we often hear how much our audiences enjoy shows they come to see it’s very rare to be told how much Lighthouse itself means to people and how big a part of their lives it is.  These are difficult days for all of us, but the good wishes and true kindness of our customers are making a tough time much easier to work through.”  

Ticket holders do not need to contact Lighthouse, all will be contacted in due course by the venue. Staff are responding to queries during office hours, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, but Lighthouse phone lines will remain closed until further notice.

In our sixth photo challenge, we have three photos for you to place and date.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a range of challenges for the tourism industry in terms of cancellations and temporary closures.

We joined the new team at The Bear of Burton to be among the first to experience the pub following a £2m refurbishment by pub and hotels group Fuller’s.

In our fifth photo date and place challenge, we had a view of Bournemouth beach and pier from Alum Chine.

The new South Coast Makers Market took place in Bournemouth on Saturday 7th March 2020.

Yellow Coaches is upgrading its vehicles to ones that are so green they produce less harmful nitrogen oxide than the average family diesel car. And the operator – part of Bournemouth-based Yellow Buses – has re-branded its fleet so they stand out even more on the roads.

Sir Merton Russell-Cotes (1835-1921) is best known for co-founding the art gallery and museum in Bournemouth that bears his name. He came to prominence as the owner of the Royal Bath Hotel, an establishment renowned for its illustrious guests, fine art and first-class service.

Come on in, the water's lovely! Whatever the weather, having a hotel with a swimming pool means there is always somewhere to show off your swimwear and have a splash around.

In our fourth photo date and place challenge, we had a view of Boscombe near the pier, with the Chine Gardens in the foreground.

Arts by the Sea is 10! The popular festival returns 25th - 27th September 2020 and will explore ‘Journeys’ as the theme for our 10th anniversary!

Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts, is looking for an innovative graffiti artist to create a piece of art on a key wall within the venue.

Light Up Poole, the digital light art festival, got underway on Thursday 20th February 2020. See 45 photos from the event below.

Brand new series, Harry Redknapp's Sandbanks Summer, sees former Tottenham Hotspur & West Ham United manager and King of the Jungle, Harry Redknapp, invite viewers to find out more about the exclusive place he has called home for 20 years - Sandbanks. Harry Redknapp's Sandbanks Summer gives the audience an insight into this unique part of the British south coast peninsula, one of the most exclusive postcodes in the UK, where property prices are higher than in Monte Carlo.

In our third photo date and place challenge, we had a bridge for you to identify.

Residents of Poole flats will be turning their block into an art gallery as part of the Light Up Poole festival of digital light art from 20 to 22 February.

Having taken two very different approaches to tackling the problem of wokeness, Douglas Murray and Andrew Doyle are now teaming up for a live tour. Each show will feature a conversation, along with an extensive audience Q&A, in which they will consider how best to resist the rise of the woke mindset, and the challenges it presents to individual liberty, intellectual diversity and free speech.

Camp Bestival is a family-friendly UK music festival taking place at Lulworth Castle, Dorset from Thursday 30 July to Sunday 2 August 2020. Created by Rob da Bank, who also founded its sister festival Bestival, Camp Bestival is still the most family excitement you can have in one weekend since its formation in 2008.

Camp Bestival 2020 is set to go to the movies this summer as the annual festival theme takes on the silver screen for a weekend full of movie madness. A brand-new open-air cinema is coming to the castle to celebrate this year’s film theme, along with sing-along-movie nights, film showcases and workshops.

Along with unmissable music across the weekend, there is also plenty of comedy, theatre, spoken word, cultural talks and activities to enjoy. A specially curated line-up of kids entertainment will keep young festival-goers happy, from The World’s Biggest Bouncing Castle to a spectacular fireworks display.

Last year’s Camp Bestival hosted an intergalactic weekend with an incredible line-up. The 2019 festival saw performances from Lewis Capaldi, Jess Glynne, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Annie Mac, The Human League and Bombay Bicycle Club, who sent revellers into another dimension with out-of-this-world performances for all the family.

So what are you waiting for? Roll out the red carpet and get ready for the biggest Camp Bestival yet – it’s set to be a blockbuster.

Live Music Acts

Fatboy Slim / Groove Armada / Liam Payne / Friendly Fires / Sophie Ellis-Bextor Ft Sink The Pink / Becky Hill / Max & Harvey / Level 42 / The Selecter / The Sherlocks / Heather Small / Reef / Space / Biig Piig / Self Esteem / Georgia / S Club Party and many more

Family Entertainment

Brainiac Live / Dick & Dom / Sam & Mark / Mr Tumble / Mister Maker & The Shapes / Adam Kay / Scummy Mummies / Man Vs. Baby / TheDadLab / Mr Motivato and many more

Tickets

Camp Bestival 2020 Tickets

Poole Museum has joined forces with other museums from across the region to tell captivating stories of inspirational women from the past.

Storm Ciara smashed into the coast at Bournemouth on Sunday 9th February. Waves crashed on the beach, seafoam formed and sand was blown up on to the promenade.

Storm Ciara hit the UK on Sunday 9th February and battered Bournemouth and Poole.

In the second of our date and place photo challenges, we have a new view from Bournemouth's yesteryear. The challenge is open to everyone to name and date the photos in the comments below. No prizes, it's just for fun.

AFC Bournemouth defender Jack Stacey went along to Rossmore Leisure Centre to join in with the young participants at a Premier League Kicks session.

Two commemorative trees have been replaced in Central Gardens, Bournemouth as part of the wider BCP Council tree planting programme.

Strictly Ballroom the Musical, based on the award-winning world-wide film phenomenon, is heading out to tour the UK and coming to Bournemouth in March 2021.

Join your favourite pups for this heroic musical adventure when they take centre stage again in 2020.

South Coast Makers Market is Bournemouth’s new, independently ran, monthly curated market held in the heart of the town.

The best time to see the snowdrops at Kingston Lacy is from late January to the end of February. The Victorian fernery is a good place to start where, nestled between the sleeping tree ferns, snowdrops carpet the beds around the twisty paths. With fun names like ‘Ding Dong’ and ‘Heffalump’ the Fernery is home to over 35 different varieties.