A new report has revealed how Venue Cymru staff had to contact tens of thousands of people to cancel or postpone shows because of the pandemic.

The sheer weight of communications was outlined in a report about customer services to Conwy county council’s finance and resources scrutiny committee which met on Monday.

The study outlined how new box office software installed in 2019, which allowed e-ticketing, helped staff work through tens of thousands of communications when the coronavirus pandemic stopped the world last March, forcing them to cancel shows already booked up.

Venue Cymru was offered up as one of three makeshift Rainbow Hospitals across North Wales.

Staff were hastily equipped with phones and laptops so they could work from home and change tickets, give refunds and help customers book for future shows.

The report said: “To date they have postponed and, in a few cases, cancelled over 100 productions and have received many emails and letters of compliments for our team.”

The venue’s creative team, more used to changing sets and preparing for conferences, gigs and events like the grand prix snooker, also used their expertise to help the transformation to a field hospital.

The report also highlighted how staff developed a number of online education and outreach activities for children.

Among them they transferred their Create Project (for young people experiencing mental health difficulties) and some of the Young Creatives Programme to online formats so they could continue during lockdown.

There were also a range of home schooling activities developed and one project, called “Ask A Pro”, is now being used by Careers Wales and some higher education colleges.

It consisted of an online series of interviews with professionals working in the creative industries to encourage young people to consider work in the field.

There was also a virtual events platform which allowed conference events to take place in either a fully virtual format or a hybrid mix, with some speakers and delegates on site and others joining the meeting remotely.