£400 million to help culture organisations thrive

Details of more than 2,700 organisations being offered nearly £400 million in grants and loans to help the culture and heritage sector reopen and recover has been announced.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that more than £170 million in repayable finance has been offered to organisations including the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. A further £81 million in new loans are being announced for 23 nationally and internationally significant organisations receiving support in excess of £1 million, including English Heritage Trust, The Lowry and Sage Gateshead.

Additionally, the English Heritage Trust, which cares for 420 historic monuments, buildings, objects and places, will receive £23.4 million to cover Coronavirus-related losses and support investment in essential maintenance.

The funding was reserved in the first round of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to allow the government to respond to the changing public health picture. The first round of grants and repayable finance totalling more than £800 million were allocated to ensure the immediate survival of 3,800 cultural organisations and heritage sites across the country. This second tranche of funding builds on the lifeline grants already awarded to support museums, theatres, performance venues, historic sites and cinemas as they reopen to audiences and visitors throughout the spring and summer.

Dowden said: “Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced. Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors - helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”