Scarborough Open Air Theatre — Local services in Great Britain

visited for the last gig of 2024 - Busted. please note i am putting this here as they dont have any other means of contact and there are issues they need to address before next season, so hoping they see this.. am signed up to their emails & read one about a variety of new caterers & more bars. where to begin... the catering points are vastly overpriced, and bore no resemblance to that on the email. there were german bratwurst , cheap quality cheeseburgers & chips or nuggets - option of cheesy chips was cold chips & grated cheese that didnt melt - urghh ! son had the cheeseburger & chips at Simple Minds so we avoided it this time round. got in at opening time, straight down to the greek option , hoping as a vegetarian for the halloumi option . queued for over half an hour when that and other options were removed from sale .. how can you so badly underestimate what food you need at a large venue ? think the fact the stall was manned by 3 young males with no sense of urgency might be the answer. once again, as a vegetarian it was chips only... didnt see anywhere selling coffee ( thought the email mentioned coffee ? )

there may be multiple bars but the choice of soft drinks was very limited. unable to bring in our own choices , we couldnt even get a small cup of lemonade ( " that's for spirits only " ) - it was sprite or nothing , so nothing it was . i highly doubt every bar had a run on spirits & used every single bottle of lemonade up.

when will those offering food & drink realise there are people with neurodiverse conditions , who will only eat / drink certain items ? if we cant bring our own things in , it can be the difference between enjoying ourselves & causing a meltdown with a broken routine ... i was on the point of wanting to walk out with the stress of it all. the seats were ok & Busted were amazing - just a great shame we don't want to return unless things vastly improve...

before anyone gets upset and says we should have eaten beforehand, there isnt really anywhere nearby and it's a long night from 6pm opening...

I've been to the OAT to see many, many shows. When it's good weather it's great. When it rains it's absolutely terrible (Little Mix a few years back was horrendous because of the rain. It was the worst concert I'd ever been to) Recently they've changed the bars and the toilets. I'm not sure that they've got it right. The queues for the toilets are so long. I didn't want to buy a drink as it would mean I'd miss too much of the concert if I went to the toilet. Drink prices are high, but comparable with other concert venues. My son (and friends) were asked to sit down and not dance at the recent Anne Marie concert, when other people were stood up and dancing on other blocks. I've never been asked to sit down. It's a concert venue. Who sits down at a pop concert? Cuffe and Taylor are poor at replying to complaints. It's been over 2 weeks since I emailed them and no reply. A steward was particularly rude to my daughter when she asked why they had to sit down - 'Shut up and sit down'. We've been to a few concerts there this year. Jess Glynne, Anne Marie, Simple Minds, Deacon Blue and Paul Heaton. All the acts have been fantastic. The Lottery Winners were support for Deacon Blue. I'd not heard them before, but they were amazing. The lead singer really knows how to get a crowd going. I'd recommend always taking a rain poncho with you to every concert. Sitting in soaking wet clothes for 4...

Why is this place so popular and why are so many huge acts getting in on the action?

Because the place gives off low-key festival vibes, but with the comforts of a more formal venue.

Only negative was the Portakabins - the person with me said they would never enter one again, lol. But I was glad there were plenty around.

If you aren't standing and are on the stands please be aware these are steep. There were a lot of elderly people or people who struggled with the climb.

The view was great though, enhanced with screens. Sound system bombastic! And you can get food delivered to your seat!

Downside, you are in a cove, dip and I had no signal (EE and O2). Please be aware there were people who were unable to access their online ticket at the venue, due to no signal. Print it off, download a pdf, screenshot it! We had physical tickets luckily.

Parking was a bit of an adventure. We arrived early and parked on the hill above for free - that can get a little disorganised when leaving the parking area. Lots of traffic and unlike at the arrival, no staff to navigate the exit.

Food - plenty, and vegan gluten free options. Plenty of bars. Could offer a better selection of nibbles though.

Overall a fantastic evening and venue. Would recommend, and can'tvwait...