LONDON • A total of 35 iconic arts venues and cultural organisations in Britain received an injection of £75 million (S$133 million) from the government's Culture Recovery Fund, with 70 per cent of funding awarded outside of London.
British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced the fund - which is intended to protect some of the nation's leading cultural organisations - last Saturday.
These include Shakespeare's Globe, Sadler's Wells Theatre and The Old Vic in London, as well as major regional theatres like Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Each recipient will get at least £1 million in the latest round of grants from the government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.
More than £52 million, or 70 per cent of the total awarded this round, will go to organisations outside London.
The British Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the grants are being awarded to places that define culture in all corners of the country by providing jobs, supporting the wider community and engaging the public through innovative means during the pandemic.
It is the largest boost from the fund to date to save the country's cultural icons.
"These places and organisations are irreplaceable parts of our heritage and what make us the cultural superpower we are," Mr Dowden said. "This vital funding will secure their future and protect jobs right away."
This is the fourth round of funding announced by the DCMS. In previous rounds, independent cinemas, heritage institutions and cultural organisations were awarded grants of up to £1 million, with the aim of helping them plan for reopening and restarting performances and programmes.
The DCMS said more than £500 million has been allocated from the fund to nearly 2,500 cultural organisations and venues of all sizes - including cinemas, heritage sites, museums, circuses, festivals and comedy clubs across the country.
Most arts and cultural institutions across Britain had been told to close since March when the coronavirus pandemic hit. A number of venues went into administration, even though the British government announced an emergency support package to help protect the future of theatres, galleries and museums.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
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