The owner of Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome Circus is confident his business will “come through the other side” of the pandemic - despite continued uncertainty about how long lockdown will last.
Peter Jay, owner of the Hippodrome, said: “Everything is a waiting game for us at the moment.
“We are really hoping that we don’t lose the entire summer to coronavirus, and so far, haven’t called off the Summer Spectacular which is due to begin in July.”
But while Mr Jay lamented the potential loss of the whole summer season, he said he is “very positive” Great Yarmouth will bounce back from this “blip” in the town’s history.
He said: “We’re a resilient bunch here in the UK, and if people can’t visit us this summer, they’ll come at Halloween, or they’ll come next year instead.
“There’ll be a boom in visits to the seaside once this is all over.
“Our business has been running for 116 years and we’re not going to let this put us under.
“Yes, it’s true that we weren’t prepared for this and it’s come out of the blue. but I’m not going to worry too much because our customers are extremely loyal and supportive.
“When we offered refunds for our cancelled Pirates Live showing, most people chose a voucher instead which would allow them to visit another show in the future.”
He also said that while it was frustrating the circus was losing revenue, as well as rent income from the new Royalty building cinema which they own, he had a “good feeling” that if everyone sticks to precuations some of the summer might be salvaged.
On the issue of financial help for businesses from the government, Mr Jay said: “We got a small grant from the government, and of course we don’t have to pay business rates for the time being.
“That is miniscule compared to what our takings would be otherwise, but that’s just the way it is at the moment.”
He said: “I’m sure when we look back at this in 20 years we’ll see that things didn’t get as bad as they could have.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here