Andrew Lloyd Webber Says He Was Wrong About West End 'Bloodbath' During 2012 Olympics

BroadwayWorld previously reported that Andrew Lloyd Webber joined in on pre-2012 London Olympics discussion of possible West End closings during the Games, saying it would be a "bloodbath of a summer." Now Webber is weighing in again after recent stats show the takings for his theaters have risen by 25 percent since the opening ceremonies.

"I’m the one who said it would all be doom and gloom in the West End, but I have been proved wrong and I couldn’t be more delighted about that," Webber told the Telegraph. "I was on the Olympic committee and I knew how few people were booking...But what is happening is that a lot of families from all over the country are coming to see things like the equestrian events or the volleyball or this, that and the other, and saying, 'What else can we go and see?'. So suddenly we see this huge upturn, and what’s interesting is that they are clearly all Brits."

Read the full report here.

Webber considered closing The Wizard of Oz during the Games but ended up keeping the show open at the London Palladium. Webber also owns the Adelphi Theatre, where Sweeney Todd made the decision to go dark for the Games.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the xx Olympiad, are currently underway in London, England, United Kingdom, through August 12, 2012. London is now the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

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