Good Friday? Culture Recovery Fund – Round 2
God, I miss theatre.
Today, more than 2,700 arts organisations have been supported in the latest tranche of Culture Recovery Fund money, totalling £400 million.
Indeed, in his Budget in March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a further £300m for the fund, which is yet to be allocated.
Fantastic to meet @BeverleyKnight, staff and performers at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre earlier this week.
These spaces are so important to our wellbeing and are the beating heart of our communities. pic.twitter.com/qP4CujAi9G
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) April 2, 2021
The government said 70% of today’s funding was being distributed outside London. The big plus point here was that more than 1,200 organisations received support from the emergency arts funding scheme for the first time.
The funding includes £81m in loans including £4.25m to Saddler’s Wells and £7.3m to The Lowry in Salford.
I hope you have been paying attention. Because the thing about this government is that it moved with the same speed and grace rescuing the cultural sector in 2020 as that container ship which got wedged in the Suez Canal.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said thousands of organisations had had help to “survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.”
He added: “Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in better times ahead.”
Of course, it is still sinister that the government is forcing arts venues across the country to publicly sing its praises once again.
Slytherin Oliver Dowden at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
I’m also obsessed with the fact that Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) which runs more than 30 UK venues, will receive almost £1m.
Bizarrely, a number of organisations owned by extremely wealthy individuals will receive taxpayer handouts.
And last month five cases of fraud were discovered among Culture Recovery Fund applications that led to a number of award offers being withdrawn, a report by the National Audit Office claimed; some applicants were awarded funding “significantly in excess” of their income the previous year.
Anyway, let us not forget that theatres played an important role in communities everywhere pre-2020. More than 34 million people attend theatres in the UK each year, generating £1.28 billion in ticket revenue.
And lo. Theatres are allowed to reopen on May 17 for socially distanced performances – this will be a hugely welcome first step.
All eyes are on June 21 as set out in the UK Government’s roadmap, later this summer for all restrictions being dropped. Let’s see.
But there is still the small issue of ongoing mutations, vaccine passports and testing. This will be key to reopening all of society.
However…
The idea of forcing people to show vaccine passports to enter theatres and concerts is likely to be counterproductive and is literally not a good idea.
Covid: "We’re on track both with the rollout of the vaccine and the roadmap," says Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden#Marr https://t.co/ScVXzjbHlQ pic.twitter.com/DniGZUBuDZ
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 28, 2021
Dowden said on Andrew Marr recently that more pilots would begin from the middle of April to look at things like ventilation, one-way systems and tests on how the virus spreads at indoor and outdoors.
PILOTS?!
At best, then, the success of the vaccine rollout and the better weather in the summer months will be vital factors.
The big institutions may today be safe, but the talented freelance workforce who set the stage alight are largely self-employed and have been hung out to dry.
Thanks, Oliver. Thanks for everything.
Full list of performing arts organisations given CRF money in round two
