Colston Hall removes letters from venue entrance

Work has begun to remove lettering from the entrance of a Bristol music venue named after slave trader Edward Colston.

Staff at Colston Hall, the city’s flagship concert venue, started to remove external signage earlier this morning (Monday, 15 June).

Bristol Music Trust, which runs the venue, said it was “a demonstration of our commitment” to rebrand - something it has planned since 2017.

It comes after Colston’s statue was pulled down during a recent Black Lives Matter protest in the city.

Bristol Music Trust was supposed to reveal the venue’s new name earlier this year, after consulting more than 4,000 people from across the city.

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But their plans were scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented staff from carrying out a final round of community engagement.

The new name will now be revealed in the autumn.