SS Great Britain in 'survival mode' faces £2m loss

The charity that runs the SS Great Britain has warned it is in "survival mode" and faces losses of £2m.

This week should have seen celebrations to mark 50 years since Isambard Kingdom Brunel's iron steam ship was returned to Bristol after it was salvaged.

But events to mark the anniversary have been postponed because of coronavirus.

The trust that manages the attraction said people in Bristol need to visit when it reopens, if it is to remain in the city.

When Brunel's world-famous ship returned to Bristol in 1970, after being recovered from waters off the Falkland Islands, it was greeted by 100,000 people.

Matthew Tanner, chief executive of the SS Great Britain Trust, hopes that affection will help overcome the current financial hardships.

"It was going to be a big year for us because of the anniversary and instead we had to switch to survival mode," he said.

"We've lost £1m in revenue since lockdown began and by September we project that will be £2m.

"The furlough scheme has been a lifeline, and we're applying for further funding, but we've always been a charity which has operated without public subsidies in the past.

"We're saying to the people of Bristol that if they want to keep having this unique experience in the city, they need to come and visit."

The Bristol Harbour Festival, which attracts about 250,000 visitors each year, should have been taking place this weekend, with the SS Great Britain celebrations at its heart.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the events have been postponed until next summer but the ship's decks will reopen on Saturday, with restrictions.

"We're doing a lot of things online but it's not the same," said Mr Tanner.

"There's something tangible about standing on the deck, because although there has been a lot of restoration work she's still the ship that sailed a million miles at sea and went around the world 32 times."

Brunel's ocean-going iron steam ship, the first in the world, was at sea for 43 years, before spending 84 years in the Falklands, where it was used as a floating warehouse for the first 51 years and scuttled for the remaining 33.

But a pioneering salvage operation led to a major conservation project.

Among the huge crowds that gathered for the ship's return to Bristol was 11-year-old Kim Hicks who admits now that she did not realise the enormity of the occasion.

Armed with rose petals gathered from their garden, she and her mother waited at the Clifton Suspension Bridge - also designed by Brunel.

"As the ship came under, my mother opened the box of rose petals and we threw them over the side," she said.

"It was the first time Brunel's ship had passed under his bridge, which wasn't there when she first left the city."