Refunds Issued Following Discontent Over Santa Replacement

Organizers have informed parents who expressed dissatisfaction that refunds are available following the substitution of the venue’s long-standing Santa. The individual portraying Santa at Winchester’s Great Hall for a minimum of 15 years was informed in the spring that his services would no longer be required, a development he described as “very sad”. Hampshire Cultural Trust, which assumed management of the Great Hall from Hampshire County Council in April, communicated to him that it “wished to do their own thing”. Paul Sapwell, the trust’s chief executive, stated that their current Santa “always takes feedback onboard, which is quite surprising for someone who’s so busy this time of year”. Concerns were raised by some individuals regarding the 2024 Santa’s lack of a real beard and the perceived decline in the Great Hall’s experience compared to previous events organized by the council. The former Santa conveyed to the BBC his consistent enjoyment of visiting “wonderful” Winchester. He recounted, “[He and the trust] had a phone call sometime in the spring that [Santa and his elf] were no longer required, which made me very sad.” He further stated, “They telephoned me, thanked me for the many years but they wished to do their own thing this year. I said: ‘you’ll be upsetting an awful lot of children if you do that’ but they carried on.” “It made me very sad because of the past 15, 20 years we have been there we have made a lot of children very happy and they have grown up seeing me every year,” he expressed. He continued, “So we had so many people returning every year – whole hosts of Christmas photographs. It was absolutely lovely.” “Winchester’s a wonderful city. Whilst the Great Hall was being looked after by the county council it became a very good event. It was honest, gentle, fun and everybody loved it. To lose it is very sad,” he concluded. The cultural trust operates numerous museums and galleries throughout Hampshire. Mr Sapwell commented, “We’re a local, not-for-profit arts and museums charity so profiteering at this time of year is really not what we’re about.” “We’re absolutely devastated that some people haven’t had a good experience at the grotto at the Great Hall,” he added. Mr Sapwell acknowledged that certain parents made bookings anticipating the presence of the Santa from prior years and that their event encountered initial “teething problems.” He further stated, “We don’t want anyone to go away disappointed, which is why we’re offering refunds for people who haven’t visited who thought they were visiting the previous years’ experience.” “We’ve worked positively with Santa and his elf office in Lapland for many years in our other museums and galleries. Santa always takes feedback onboard, which is quite surprising for someone who’s so busy this time of year, and so do we,” he explained. “So we’re working really closely with him to continually improve the experience that we are offering here for the rest of the season,” he concluded. Readers can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. The content is copyrighted by BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.