135 UK venues will receive support from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
Grassroots music venues across England will be the first recipients of the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. Following the #LetUsDance campaign, a total of £3.36 million will be distributed among the 135 venues at risk of imminent collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This Government is here for culture and these grants today show we are determined to help our exceptional music industry weather the covid storm and come back stronger,” says Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden. “I encourage music fans to help too by supporting music and cultural events as they start to get going again. We need a collective effort to help the things we love through covid.”
Whilst pubs and restaurants have been allowed to reopen in the UK with social distancing regulations in place, nightclubs have been given no roadmap as to how and when they might reopen. Many venues have already been forced to close down, including the 28 year running Bristol club, Blue Mountain. The emergency grants, claimable up to £80,000, will support nightclubs during the pandemic, covering on-going expenses during closure including rent and utilities.
“This is vital funding for the cultural sector that is being hit the hardest by Covid,” commented Gilles Peterson on the announcement. “So many people in the music world are reliant on the live music sector, and without this government help irrevocable long-term harm threatened the world leading UK music industry and those who rely on it for a living.”
Fold, Corsica Studios, XOYO and Manchester’s Soup Kitchen are among the 135 at-risk venues that have received emergency grants. The full list of venues is available on the Arts Council website.
Read the full statement on GOV.UK.