Coronavirus wipes out attractions, theatres and festivals
A host of Scotland’s leading visitor attractions and cultural venues were put into lockdown and major events called off in the face of the calls for people to stay at home to try to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Scotland, V&A Dundee, Linlithgow Palace, the Royal Botanic Garden, Skare Brae and Iona Abbey are among the sites that have been shut for the forseeable future.
Dundee Rep, the Royal Lyceum
in Edinburgh, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Glasgow Film Theatre and Perth Concert Hall all brought an immediate halt to productions within the space of a few hours.
The Royal Highland Show, one of Edinburgh’s biggest annual events, was called off, as was the Beltane Fire Festival, which was due to be staged at the end of next month, and the Edinburgh Science Festival, which was due to get under way in early April.
The closures were ordered within a day of the Scottish and UK governments urging people to limit social contact, avoid crowded areas and gatherings of any kind and minimise visits to theatres, cinemas, bars and restaurants.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged to help arts venues cope with the impact of prolonged closure, including ensuring they did not pay business rates for the next year.
Urquhart Castle, Doune Castle, Linlithgow Palace, Iona Abbey and Skara Brae in Orkney were all closed down by Historic Environment Scotland, the government agency also responsible for Stiriling and Edinburgh castles,
An official statement said: “In light of updated Scottish Government advice regarding Coronavirus (Covid-19), we have taken the decision to close public access to our staffed properties and offices until further notice,
“The safety of our staff, visitors and partners is of paramount importance and we have taken this decision in line with the latest Scottish Government advice.
“Our seasonal sites will not be opening as normally scheduled in April 2020. However, our unstaffed sites, will be open and are free to access.”
National Museums Scotland, which also runs the National Museum of Flight, the National Museum of Rural Life in Lanarkshire and the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle, said they would also be closed until further notice
The National Galleries of Scotland said its attractions in Edinburgh – Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art – would be closing “in order to help protect the health of our staff and visitors.”
An official statement from V&A Dundee said: “During these exceptional times, the health and safety of our visitors and staff is our number one priority. We will continue to monitor the situation closelyandlookforwardtowelcoming visitors back to V&A Dundee
as soon as we are able.” Pitlochry Festival Theatre issued an appeal for help to supporters after shutting down for the spring.
A statement said: “Most of our funding comes from you attending our productions and spending time here with us. Without you the vast majority of our income is gone and we will not be able to stay open.”
Bradley Mcarthur, chair of the Beltane Fire Society’s board, said: “It was felt it would have been socially irresponsible to allow the event to go ahead as usual.”
Edinburgh Science Festival director Amanda Tyndall said: “We are exploring how we might do more online and whether any elements of the festival might potentially be run later in the year