UK's lockdown-hit arts venues to get $2B rescue package

U.K. arts and culture network Sky Arts will become a free-to-air TV channel in September, "supercharging its mission to increase access to and drive participation in the arts," Comcast-owned pay TV giant Sky said.

Treasures Of The British Library, Tate Britain’s Great Art Walks and The South Bank Show, which it took over after it was cancelled by ITV after 33 years.Upcoming programme highlights to note include a Style Council biography, a look at the life and works of Harold Pinter by Danny Dyer and a broadcast of one of English National Opera’s September drive-in performances of La Bohème.Portrait Artist Of The Year, one of the channel’s most popular shows, will also make a return with sitters including

Jake Kanter International TV EditorComcast-owned Sky has confirmed that Sky Arts, its premium arts channel, is to become a free-to-air network in the UK from September.The channel will launch on Freeview with a mission to bring “more of the arts to more people.” The move comes in an environment in which the BBC is scaling back originals on BBC Four, which has traditionally been at the forefront of the BBC’s arts content.Sky Arts is famous for shows including Portrait Artist Of The Year, fronted

coronavirus pandemic.A joint venture by Band on the Wall, the Music Venue Trust and Stephen Budd Music, Passport: Back to Our Roots is seeking to aid “the independent grassroots venues that form the foundations of the UK’s live music scene” by putting on a series of one-off shows at small venues across the country.“This is your exclusive opportunity to watch the biggest artists play their smallest gigs – live and in person like they should be – while making a huge difference to the UK’s

Van Morrison and The Bootleg Beatles have joined this summer’s line-up for the UK’s first socially distanced music venue.The Virgin Money Unity Arena, which is set to open at Newcastle Racecourse in August, will allow music fans across the North East to enjoy live music for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.It’s now been confirmed that blues legend Van Morrison will play the venue on Thursday September 3, while an earlier show comes from The Bootleg Beatles on August 16.Virgin

fund to protect the UK’s arts and cultural industries will be used to save grassroots music venues from closing their doors.In a statement, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden confirmed that £2.25 million of emergency funding will be used to secure the futures of up to 150 venues across the country.“Without our grassroots music venues, we wouldn’t have The Beatles, Adele or Elton John.

coronavirus on live music and theatre.Chair of the House of Commons culture select committee Julian Knight MP said the recent £1.57bn support package for the industry was “nothing more than an Elastoplast over a gaping wound”.The committee said the cultural industries were likely to face mass redundancies and there could be a lasting impact on diversity, opportunities for audiences and workers, and the UK’s position as a cultural world leader.The help available was hampered by the “lack of

Biffy Clyro‘s Simon Neil has praise the cultural value of grassroots music venues, warning that the government must remain vigilant to prevent closures across the UK.The frontman also warned that a “generation” of talent will fail to emerge if venues are not available for them to hone their craft in the formative stages of their careers.“If venues disappear, we’re losing a generation, if not more, of talent,” Neil told Music Week.“Be it a hip-hop star or a rock band or an electronic act, that’s

According to Variety, the news was announced by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden via Twitter. “The U.K.’s performing arts sector is renowned across the world and I am pleased that we are making real progress in getting its doors reopened to the public with social distancing,” Dowden said in a statement.“From August indoor theaters, music venues and performance spaces will safely welcome audiences back across the country,” he said.“Delighted indoor

Theatres, music venues and indoor performance spaces will be allowed to welcome back live audiences from next month, the government has confirmed.Boris Johnson announced the news today as the UK reaches the fourth step in the government's five-stage roadmap.Audiences will be permitted to return from August 1, but must adhere to social distancing measures.Performers will also have to maintain social distancing at all times.The announcement is a major step forward for the arts industry, one of the

coronavirus has had on venues when considering permission for redevelopment, demolition or change of use.It is hoped the move will safeguard venues by preventing them from being bought up and converted into housing or shops.“Our theatres, concert halls and live music performance venues are the envy of the world and are central to our cultural heritage,” Mr Jenrick said.“That’s why we’re investing £1.57 billion to protect Britain’s cultural, arts and heritage institutions, as well as ensuring

James Bay has announced that he’ll play a live-streamed gig later this week, with all profits going towards the Save Our Venues campaign.Marking the release of his latest single ‘Chew On My Heart’, the gig from London’s Omeara will be broadcast to James Bay’s official YouTube channel on July 16, benefitting UK grassroots music venues at risk of permanent closure due to Covid-19.He said: “Big or small, spending time honing your craft and performing in venues is vital on the journey to becoming a

coronavirus crisis.The initiative sees the MVT team up with TCB Merchandise and live agent/promoter Neil O’Brien to sell high-quality reproduced wall posters from classic past shows. Various venues across the UK contributed tour posters for artists such as The Killers, Foals, PJ Harvey, Amy Winehouse and Jeff Buckley.Now, the pieces are being showcased at a new gallery at London’s Camden Market.

concerns over the British Government’s recent radical shake-up of UK planning laws, the Music Venue Trust have received confirmation that grassroots venues will not be put at risk.Last Tuesday (June 30), Boris Johnson unveiled his economic recovery plan for the UK after the coronavirus crisis, and confirmed new proposals that will allow developers to demolish and rebuild vacant and redundant commercial buildings if they are rebuilt as homes.Dubbed “project speed”, the proposals will also allow a

The pandemic-ravaged U.K. music sector will receive a much-needed infusion as part of a £1.57 billion ($1.96 billion) rescue package for the arts announced by the government on Sunday. Thousands of organizations in live music, performing arts and theaters, museums, galleries and independent cinema, will be able to access eme

coronavirus crisis – before the government stepped in with a  £1.57billion arts bailout.Last night, the UK government revealed plans for an unprecedented cash injection to help the arts, culture and heritage industries “weather the impact of coronavirus” – providing music venues, independent cinemas, museums, galleries, theatres and heritage sites with emergency grants and loans.After COVID-19 restrictions first forced venues to close, the MVT launched the Save Our Venues campaign with a