Hall bosses scoop vital funding to secure future for popular venue
BOSSES at the Queens Hall in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, have scooped vital funding to secure its future for coming months.
The town’s popular venue in the High Street, which has hosted live music and community events for six decades, suddenly saw 80% of its income disappear in March last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
It has now been successful in getting relief funding through the Welsh Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund.
This fund is providing essential support to the entertainment and arts industries as the pandemic continues.
Theatres, music venues, heritage sites, libraries, museums, galleries, archive services and independent cinemas, right across Wales which have all experienced a dramatic loss of revenue due to the pandemic.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Queens Hall said: “We are over the moon to announce that the Queens Hall have been successful in their application to the Cultural Recovery Fund from Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
“This means the organisation, the staff and the future of the hall are secure until at least April 2021 and gives us the breathing space we desperately needed to plan for the future.
“We are beyond grateful to receive this fund, so to celebrate we will be bringing back live music to the hall through a series of live streamed gigs, sharing the talents of our incredible local, new and up-andcoming artists, bands, musicians and DJS, from now through to the end of April 2021 and hopefully beyond.”
Bosses added that it has been a tough year but thanked supporters who have helped them through the difficult months.
They added: “By the end of March we were blindsided not only by the fire in the café, but by the first nationwide lockdown, from which we have yet to reopen fully for live events.
“Since this abrupt closure over nine months ago, the passionate support we’ve received is truly incredible and has fuelled our determination to keep going in what could have been the worst year in our six-decade history.
“We would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of hundreds of people who shared and pledged to our Crowdfunder back in the summer.
“The response to the campaign, the kind comments and the memories it invoked have at times been overwhelming, and realising the impact the hall has had on so many people for so long stoked the fire in our bellies to keep going.
“Finally, we would like to say that as awful as 2020 has been for the hall after losing over 80% of our income, we have so much more to be excited about moving forward.”
To date, more than £30 million has been distributed through the Welsh Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund, with the Arts Council of Wales allocating a £20 million package for the sector in October.