The new name for Bristol’s iconic Colston Hall was revealed this week in a live-streamed event.
The historic music venue will now be known as Bristol Beacon – a name its operator Bristol Music Trust described as “a symbol of hope and community”. The new name has been adopted immediately. 
The Trust said it hoped the renaming – which took place as the venue’s £48.8m transformation nears completion – would serves as a fresh start for the organisation and its place in the city, with a focus on music performance and education.
Writing on its website, the Trust stated: “We believe in the power of music to break down barriers and cross boundaries. Bristol Beacon will celebrate this in everything we do.”
New branding for the venue will now be designed – a project that Trust chief executive Louise Mitchell said during the renaming ceremony would involve Bristol’s young creatives.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the ceremony was conducted in the venue’s iconic foyer without a live audience or guests in attendance.
Short speeches by Louise Mitchell, pictured, and Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees were followed by a short film featuring a poem especially created for the occasion by city poet Vanessa Kisuule which used a diverse range of voices of the people of Bristol at locations around the city. The new name was revealed in the last line of the poem.
The renaming severs the 153-year-old venue’s controversial association with Bristol slave-trader Edward Colston – a source of fierce debate in the city for decades. 
While the toppling of Colston’s nearby statue during a Black Lives Matter protest this summer brought renewed focus on the hall’s name, the Trust had for many years been looking at ways of ditching it.
There had also been growing unease from many people in the city, including artists and performers, at the ongoing association, with Bristol band Massive Attack refusing the play the venue because of the name.
The Trust has been keen to point out that the hall was founded 150 years after Colston’s death, with no financial investment or direct link to the man or his wealth.
In her live webcast, Louise Mitchell said: “This morning I am warmly welcoming you to Bristol Beacon. A symbol of hope and community. A focal point for music in the city. A gathering space, illuminating the way ahead.
“A place of welcome, warmth and light. We’re giving an open invitation to the city for everyone to come and share in the joy of live music. I look forward to developing our future with you.
“You’ve told us that you want us to inspire more people through music. With this change, and the coming transformation of our building, we can do that together. Today marks the start of a new chapter as Bristol Beacon.”
Mayor Rees added: “In this naming process we have the renewal of the soul of the building. It is such a powerful building at the centre of our city.”
The renaming was marked with visuals created by award-winning Bristol design studio Limbic Cinema projected onto the front of the building.
A shortened version appeared last night featuring images of some of the hall’s more famous performers, while this evening a full version, including the new name, will be projected.
The new branding for Bristol Beacon will be created over the next few months in partnership with local young emerging creatives from Rising Arts Agency, the not-for-profit organisation supporting 16-25 year-olds with creative ambitions.
Despite the venue’s proud heritage of attracting some of the biggest names in entertainment over the past century and a half – from The Beatles, Bowie and Bob Dylan to Louis Armstrong and Rachmaninoff – it has for many years lagged behind its counterparts in other cities.
It was the only major UK concert venue not to have been redeveloped in recent times before the current transformation programme started. Prior to that there had been no major refurbishment of the venue for 60 years
The project is creating one of the best arts and learning facilities in the country and includes remodelling and upgrading the Main Hall and The Lantern, opening up the extensive cellars for the first time in 150 years – creating a new intimate performance space and a state-of-the-art education suite – and refurbishing the historic fabric of the building.
