Bristol Music Trust will be revealing a new name for Colston Hall in the autumn and in the meanwhile will be removing its external signage from the building. Following protests, the Trust announced three years ago that it would be changing the name as part of a major refurbishment project. An in-depth consultation was carried out with over 4,000 people from communities across the city and the new name was due to be announced in Spring 2020, but the pandemic has delayed the process.
In an attempt to distance itself from any association with its namesake, the 17th Century MP Edward Colston who earned much of his money through the slave trade, the Trust has issued a statement pointing out that the Hall was built 150 years after Colston died and was not founded with any of his money: "The current name does not reflect our values as a progressive, forward-thinking and open arts organisation – we want it to be representative of the city, a beacon of its values of hope, diversity and inclusion."