Risks associated with the construction of the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC), (pictured)were handled well by the Welsh Assembly Government, but it was “not on top of continuing risks” after the opening of the building in 2002, according to a report by the Auditor General for Wales. The report acknowledged that the Centre “is an important part of the Welsh cultural landscape”.
However, the initial intention for it to be financially self-supporting proved impossible, and subsequently public funding was made available. Funders did not have a common view of whether their priority for the construction was time, cost or quality, resulting in confusion over procurement. The Assembly Government failed to keep sufficient information on the WMC’s performance since its opening because of concerns about commercially sensitive information being released under the Freedom of Information Act is able to take the opportunity… to transform McMaster’s high level concept of a ‘free week’ into a more realistic and grounded audience engagement proposition”. Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Shadow Arts Minister Ed Vaizey have drawn attention to the relatively small amount of cash set aside for the scheme, and questioned the motives behind its announcement: “The one million free tickets is merely aspirational… The scheme is still very much in development, and was announced prematurely to get headlines at the Labour conference”.