This was the gig that every Black Sabbath fan wanted to attend. The last ever show before the curtain closed on what had been an illustrious, nearly five-decade career for the pioneers of Heavy Metal. Hosted by the Genting Arena on 2 and 4 February, the shows proved a winner with food and beverage sales from the venue’s caterer, Amadeus, exceeding £255,000.
As anticipated, beer and cider sales were at a high, with over 34,600 sold by the venue’s Forum Live beverage outlets, and over 14,800 litres of Amstel were sold.
Amadeus General Manager for the Genting Arena, Annie Monnox, said: “Amadeus sold nearly 67,000 products across both evenings, averaging at 2.5 per person- a great achievement for us as the second highest revenue generated by the team this financial year. In particular, our sponsored Amstel and Stowford Press Bars proved extremely popular with customers, achieving some of their highest sales figures to date.”
The venue’s hospitality business, Amplify, also faired extremely well from the two performances, exceeding over 1000 covers in Lakeside, Westside TowerDeck and Air- the Genting Arena’s four exclusive restaurants for hospitality guests. Those who experienced the Freestyle hospitality package were treated to pumpkin veloute with wild mushrooms & walnut, Gorgonzola tortellini or Brussels pate to start, followed by a blade of beef, pan-fried Scottish salmon or Asparagus tortellini with griddled yellow courgette, oyster mushroom, shallot rings and basil cream. The sweet highlight was the rocky road brownie and glazed lemon tart duo of desserts.
Sally Walder, Manager of Amplify added: “It was a real honour to be part of Black Sabbath’s final shows, and I hope our guests enjoyed the momentous occasion as much as we did. For the band to perform their final shows at the Genting Arena was a real honour for the Genting Arena, and served us well in terms of hospitality sales.”