The Full Score
£1.57 billion fund gives hope to the UK’S venues, museums and galleries
The latest news from around the classical music world
Leading figures from the classical music world have welcomed the UK government’s announcement of a £1.57 billion rescue package to help the country’s arts industries cope with the impact of COVID-19 . The funds will go towards supporting the UK’S museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas, concert halls, heritage sites and live music venues, and will be a mix of emergency grants and loans.
It has not yet been announced how the money will be split between regions and industries, or how venues and organisations can apply for funding. Freelance musicians, meanwhile, have yet to receive any o cial guidance of how they might receive funding during the lockdown period.
The announcement comes a er violinist Nicola Benedetti, conductor Simon
Rattle, cellist Sheku Kanneh-mason and trumpeter Alison Balsom met with culture secretary Oliver Dowden to discuss the support needed to help the music industry back on its feet a er months of inactivity and social distancing restrictions.
In his statement, Dowden said ‘I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations. I said we would not let the arts down, and this massive investment shows our level of commitment.’
In reaction to the news, Simon Rattle said ‘We are an immensely interconnected industry, so it is important that the funds percolate from the grassroots up, so that the whole landscape can be nourished, and we hope it will be distributed as fast as possible. Preferably faster, as so many institutions and individual artists have been staring into the abyss.’
Though the prospect of full houses for indoor performances still seems a distant one, some green shoots are emerging. From the second weekend of July, outdoor venues in England have been permitted to resume concerts with live audiences. Should trial events prove successful, they are to be followed in August by the reintroduction of indoor concerts with socially distanced audiences. The government says it will make a full reassessment of the situation in November.
‘We must protect and preserve all we can for future generations’