Hundreds of cultural organisations in England have received a share of the final £35m emergency support package from the Culture Recovery Fund.
West End Stage in central London, Liverpool’s The Bluecoat contemporary arts centre and Harrogate International Festivals are among the bodies to have benefited from the fund, set up by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DDCMS) in 2020 to help overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final round of funding has supported organisations through the latest challenges, most notably those affected by the Omicron variant over the winter. Since August 2020, the Culture Recovery Fund has distributed £1.57bn to around 5,000 organisations and sites across the country, including Glastonbury Festival and the National Theatre.
Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “Being cut off from them during lockdown has underlined what a vital role cultural organisations play in their community up and down the country. The Government stood by them in the pandemic, and is determined that they should remain open and accessible to everyone – now and for generations to come.
“I am very proud of the Culture Recovery Fund and the lifeline it has provided for cherished organisations in every part of the country.”
In the final batch of awards, Harrogate International Festivals has received a grant of £80,000 to continue delivering engaging cultural festivals, such as the Harrogate Music Festival. A £185,000 grant for Corsica Studios in central London has helped the night club welcome grassroots DJs and household names alike and £60,000 has supported the Wedgewood Rooms, an independent music venue in Southsea, Portsmouth.
Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said: “This funding will make a significant difference to our ongoing delivery and emergence from the pandemic.
“Festivals are cyclical by nature and despite delivering a mix of digital and smaller scale live events during 2021 we need to be fit for purpose for the future learning from our resilience, radically changed programmes and creative ambition over the last two years. This funding will allow us to make informed decisions on our future artistic and community outputs.”
In July 2020, the DDCMS announced a £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund rescue package for cultural organisations to help the sector survive, and when possible, reopen. In June 2021 applications began for the third and final round of the Culture Recovery Fund to provide further support to cultural, heritage and creative sectors as they began to recover and reopen following the easing of restrictions.
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