Lucy Noble Elected Chair Of National Arenas Association

Royal Albert Hall – Lucy Noble
Artistic and commercial director of the Royal Albert Hall and NAA chair

Lucy Noble, the artistic and commercial director of the Royal Albert Hall in London, has been elected Chair of the National Arenas Association (NAA), for a three year term commencing 1st January 2019. Noble takes over from Martin Ingham, CEO, Motorpoint Arena Nottingham. 

The NAA represents 23 arenas across the UK and Ireland, sharing best practice and training across arenas in areas such as event management, health and safety, ticketing, customer service and accessibility. 

It works within the UK Live Music Group to promote the UK’s commercial music industry, which is worth in excess of £4bn a year to the UK economy, and is due to publish its 2018 statistics at the upcoming 2019 International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

Lucy Noble said, “It’s an honour and a privilege to have been elected to chair this body, which represents such a wide range of colleagues in such an exciting industry. 

“Although the Hall is the smallest of these arenas, it’s also the oldest and has paved the way in terms of large capacity spaces and what they’re capable of. We’ve been a proud member of the NAA for over 15 years and find it extremely useful in developing our approach, sharing with the industry, and identifying new collaborative areas.” 

“I’m especially looking forward to lead on discussion around women in the industry, accessibility and diversity, and how we can keep ahead of changes in technology – and I’m thrilled to be the first female chair in over 15 years.” 

Martin Ingham said, “It has been a great privilege to chair the NAA for the past three years during a period of growth in the live music industry but also at a time of huge challenges for our Arenas’ management teams. 

“Operational security for venues is continually developing, while there are never-ending financial pressures from increases to our cost base that require constant innovation to mitigate.

“I’m delighted to be handing the reins over to Lucy who is experienced in so many facets of the industry and who will be an excellent champion for the NAA.”

The announcement arrives as the Royal Albert Hall had its busiest year yet – with 401 auditorium events – and launched a 150th anniversary committee chaired by UTA’s Neil Warnock, drawing on colleagues from across the industry in plans for 2021.