Fabric, Shakespeare’s Globe and Old Vic among latest Culture Recovery Fund beneficiaries

A further £75 million of the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund has been distributed among 35 arts organisations, with the likes of London nightclub Fabric, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Old Vic to receive at least £1 million in financial support. 

In this latest distribution, only five music venues received funding: Fabric (£1.5 million), Bournemouth’s BH Live (£2.4m), North Music Trust (£1.8m), which runs Sage Gateshead, Performances Birmingham Ltd (£2.5m), and the ACC Liverpool Group (£2.9m). A number of music-related organisations, such as venues, promoters and festivals, were included in earlier rounds of funding.

A number of theatres across the country were included in the latest funding, with Shakespeare’s Globe (£2.9 million), Sheffield Crucible (£2.2 million), the Leeds Theatre Trust (£2.3 million) and the Royal Exchange Theatre (2.8 million) among the successful applicants. 70 per cent of the latest round of funding was given to organisations outside of London.

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Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “As part of our unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue fund, today we’re saving British cultural icons with large grants of up to £3 million – from Shakespeare’s Globe to the Sheffield Crucible. These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are. This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away.”

The arts sector has been devastated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the events industry effectively cancelled since March with no return date in sight. Last week, a new report from LIVE, an umbrella group repressing the live music industry, predicted that revenues for the events supply industry (audio, lighting etc) will be down by 95 per cent by the end of 2020, with 170,000 jobs set to have been lost.