We know that our former name, that of the slave trader Edward Colston, meant that not everyone has felt welcome or that they belong in their city’s concert hall. And if we couldn’t share the joy of live music with everyone, something had to change.
Our organisation was founded long after Colston’s death, and has no direct connection to him, financial or otherwise. We can no longer be a monument to someone who played such a prominent role in the slave trade.
Since the start of our transformation campaign, which we launched in September 2014, we’ve stated that we would be reviewing the name as part of our redevelopment. We made the announcement in April 2017, well before the transformation began in June 2018, to make our intentions clear. We changed our name on 23 September 2020.
Find out more here