Michael Jackson death hurts segments of London economy as 50 sold-out shows canceled

Jackson death hurts some parts of London economy

LONDON — Now that the reality of Michael Jackson’s death has sunk in, some Londoners are assessing the economic impact of his sudden departure — and they don’t like what they see.

The demise of the pop legend means the cancellation of 50 planned shows at London’s 23,000-seat O2 Arena, which was sold out for the long-anticipated Jackson run.

Some replacement events will be scheduled in their place, but the loss of the superstar means lots of empty hotel rooms, half-filled restaurants, and quiet nightclubs.

“We expected huge numbers for him,” said Louis Thacker, general manager of the Pilot Inn, a hotel near the arena. “It was something we were looking to be a boost for us, and we were kind of banking on it.”

In an economy as large and diverse as London’s, the scrapping of the Jackson concerts will not be felt by most businesses, but it is expected to have a substantial impact on the East London and Greenwich areas near the O2 Arena, where hotels, restaurants and nightspots all count on concert goers.

“The hotels there will be panicking,” said Tom Otley, editorial director of Business Traveller magazine. “It’s a very tough story for them, but it can be good for business travelers because they’ll be lowering their rates.”

He said hotels near the arena rely on O2 events to keep their rooms filled on weekends, when there are very few business travelers in that part of the city.

The cancellations are also hitting the corporate hospitality industry because many companies planned to bring executives to London for some of the shows.

Alex Hewitt, managing director of AOK Events, said his company’s profits would suffer because many companies were planning entertainment events tied to the Jackson shows.

“I have never seen anything to this scale, to have an event where there were 500 packages a night for 50 nights and all of a sudden it’s no longer happening,” he said.

Paul Duggan, general manager of the Radisson Edwardian Hotel near the arena, said roughly 250 cancellations have already been received.

“It is disappointing as there was a real excitement in the local area,” he said.

But some experts also predicted a positive economic impact.

Philip Shaw, chief economist for the United Kingdom at Investec Securities, said sales of Jackson CDs and DVDs would help music retailers — indeed, his albums have already returned to the top of the UK charts in the days following his death.

He also said some revenue would likely be generated by tribute concerts.

Overall, he said, the loss of the shows is not going to have a “make or break” impact on London.

“The London economy and the area around the O2 could suffer at a small level because it would no longer be benefiting from 50 concerts there, but that would be an absence of a boost instead of the contraction of one,” he said.

There are already signs that the tribute band phenomenon is taking off, helping some night club operators cope with the loss of the concerts.

Danny Montila, owner of THAT Club in Greenwich, said the concert cancellations would hurt his business a bit but that he has already found an enthusiastic audience for Michael Jackson tribute shows.

“We already had one scheduled for Friday, which turned out to be the day after his death, and we were going to cancel out of respect for him and his family, but we found people really wanted to celebrate his life,” said Montila. “We sold 800 extra tickets that day.”

He expects booming business at the next tribute show, set for late July.

There has already been a sharp rise in the demand for Jackson-related memorabilia — accompanied by a steep run-up in prices.

Anyone with tour jackets, promotional posters, production artwork and instruments used on Jackson’s tours or clothes worn by his dancers can find a ready market, said Ted Owen, managing director of the Fame Bureau, London auctioneers specializing in entertainment items.

“Autographs have tripled,” he said. “Jackets that would have gone for 1,000 pounds ($1650) — one went for 22,000 pounds ($36,300) on Friday. The market has gone absolutely through the roof with people wanting a piece of Michael Jackson now he’s dead.”

In addition to high-priced, authentic items, there is also a demand for lower-end goods, like Jackson T-shirts. Some vendors in London’s crowded Camden street market have added Jackson T-shirts to their substantial stocks of Barack Obama items.

Chafik Rhazi said some Jackson devotees were not happy to see the merchandise.

“My colleague told me that some of them were very unhappy.” said Rhazi. “They said ‘he just died and you are making money off his death.’”

Associated Press Writers Michael Bushnell, Nardine Saad and Louise Watt in London contributed to this report.