The company which produced Messiah XXI has pledged to the Millennium Committee that it will give a percentage of any profits made from the production to Irish charities.
The representatives of Messiah XXI Productions Ltd yesterday told the committee that 10 per cent of any profits would be paid until the total sum given to charity reached £700,000. This was the value of the original grant paid to the company by the Millennium Committee.
However, the company has also promised to continue its support for Irish charities after this sum is paid.
The Messiah XXI production, a reworking of Handel's Messiah, was performed over two nights at the RDS and will be televised on RTE on December 30th.
The televising of the event was one of the reasons why the Millennium Committee gave a £700,000 grant as part of the millennium programming. It is intended that the production will be broadcast all over the world and hoped that profits will be made for many years.
A spokesman for the committee said last night that the promoters proposed earlier this year that they would give a percentage of any profits to charity and in fact that was one of the criteria for the committee giving the grant.
"RTE will be broadcasting Messiah XXI as their flagship millennium show," the spokesman said.
The company had also pledged that it would continue to support Irish charities after the committee ceased to exist at the end of next year.
The live performance of Messiah XXI last weekend, which had mixed reviews, had an international cast, including former rock star Roger Daltry, film actor Aidan Quinn, singer Gladys Knight and a Gospel choir.
Last night, Messiah XXI Productions Ltd issued a statement through its spokesperson stating that in line with its original proposal to make a charity donation, the company had pledged a percentage of the net profit after tax to Irish charities.
"It has been confirmed to the Millennium Committee that this sum will be 10 per cent annually up to £700,000, the equivalent of the original award in the first instance," a spokesperson for the company said. Thereafter the Irish promoters would continue their support for Irish charities.