£165 million in emergency loans has been given to UK arts organisations hit hard by the global pandemic.
Eleven organisations will each receive part of the loan, with an initial repayment holiday of up to four years and a repayment term of up to twenty years.
The Royal Opera House are set to receive £21.7 million whilst the Royal Albert Hall will be given £20.7 million.
This £165 million represents one of the final efforts from the UK Government to help the arts sector, one of the hardest hit industries throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’re grateful and relieved to have secured a major emergency loan from the Government's #CultureRecoveryFund.
It will help ensure we can be #HereForCulture and here for the nation, now and in the future.
Read our full statement: https://t.co/jA1Z6l8lPg pic.twitter.com/lERWkUyr02
— National Theatre (@NationalTheatre) December 11, 2020
Lisa Burger, Executive Director of the National Theatre (NT), described the loans as “a vital lifeline that will form part of our recovery, helping to ensure that the National Theatre will be here for the nation, now, and in the future.”
This initiative is supported by The Crown‘s Olivia Colman, who most recently appeared at the NT in 2017. The Oscar-winning actor said “alongside the grants to smaller theatres, its wonderful to hear that the NT’s future is being supported by this lifeline loan.”
In July, a £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund was announced to help the arts and culture sector survive the pandemic.
Words by Maddy Raine.
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