Prime Minister Keir Starmer "passionate" about protecting snooker at the Crucible after Sheffield visit
The ongoing saga of whether the World Snooker Championship will stay at the Crucible Theatre has taken another twist after Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer paid a surprise visit to the iconic venue this week.
As reported exclusively by The Sheffield Star here, Prime Minister Starmer was in Sheffield last Thursday and seen entering the Crucible along with several advisers during the afternoon.
It is understood that Starmer spent an hour with representatives of Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Theatres and local partners, and it seems that snooker’s blue riband event was definitely part of the agenda.
The Prime Minister’s trip to the ‘Steel City’ came just a few weeks after his meeting with the Chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - the sport’s governing body - Jason Ferguson in China.
Ferguson - a former top 32 professional player, who qualified for the Crucible three times - was one of 60 representatives from British business, sport and culture that formed a delegation to join the Prime Minister during his three-day visit to the Far East in January.
Organised by the UK Department for Business and Trade, snooker was part of the ‘House of UK’ reception, with Starmer spending time with Ferguson, world women’s snooker champion Bai Yulu, and World Disability Snooker and Billiards player director Da Chen. More on that meeting can be read on the WPBSA website here.
Following the Prime Minister’s Crucible call, a No10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister is passionate about protecting our sporting and cultural institutions - and this includes the Crucible in Sheffield, which has hosted the World Snooker Championship for 50 years.”
The Crucible has held the World Snooker Championship every year since 1977, although its latest contract to host the 17-day extravaganza ends next year in 2027.
An intense, cauldron-like atmosphere, around 980 fans flock in for each session of the Championship to watch the drama unfold. But its limited capacity, not its intimacy, has led to debate on whether snooker’s biggest event has outgrown the venue, and commercial opportunities elsewhere are potentially being missed, in turn supplying the players with additional prize money.
With time ticking on and 2027 looming large, speculation has been rife over the past few years about whether the Championship will move to a new home - whether that be to a bigger venue in the UK, or part of a big money offer from abroad. The latter scenario seems unlikely in the short-term, though, with host television broadcaster the BBC committing to show the tournament having signed a contract extension until 2032.
Talks have been ongoing in the background between snooker chiefs and the Sheffield City Council, with sports promotions supremo Barry Hearn having met leader Tom Hunt and chief executive Kate Josephs in May 2025, although some fans were left disappointed with no update at the end of last year.
After that meeting several months ago, Hearn - who wants to increase prize money for the tournament, with the £500,000 top prize having remained the same since 2019 - saying: “This is something where Sheffield can only go so far, but with government assistance it can go further, and it can be maintained.
“So, the onus is still on Sheffield to come up with something in line with our thinking.
“This is a major event in England and yet the prize money is nowhere near where I want it to be. So, everyone understands each other's problems.
“Fingers crossed the government understands the significance of this event remaining in the UK and remaining in Sheffield.”
Perhaps with Prime Minister Starmer’s participation, Hearn may receive what he is looking for. It seems significant that Starmer actually went to the Crucible to visit the hallowed arena in person himself, instead of an adviser doing it, or taking a call about the issue.
Earlier this month, the World Snooker Tour announced that a very select band of new premium seats will be added to the Crucible set for the upcoming edition in April/May.
This new vantage point - in an area called the ‘Legends Walk Premium’ - will be located towards the black ball end of the table(s) next to the player’s introduction walkway.