The Ferret in Preston has been saved by Music Venue Trust lancashiretelegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lancashiretelegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As they try to rebuild after Covid, some gig venues are being put into the hands of locals – and many owners say this speeds up improvements and ensures long-term success
BBC News
By Mark Savage
image captionDownload Festival was run as a limited-capacity pilot event last weekend
Festivals and freelancers in the cultural sector face devastating consequences unless the government offers more support, MPs have warned.
The Public Accounts Committee praised a government scheme to bail out cultural institutions, but said festivals faced a survival threat unless ministers set up a cancellation insurance scheme.
It noted the government had not yet modelled how such a scheme could work.
The government said more help was coming via its culture recovery fund.
In its report published on Wednesday, the Public Accounts Committee also raised concerns over the lack of support for crew and technicians.
Matthew Otridge, one of the managers and directors of The Exchange, and more recently the South West coordinator for the Music Venue Trust, the Culture Recovery Fund “was a major moment for music venues to be recognised along side the theatres, the operas, and the art spaces because it’s always been a bit like, well are music venues just pubs?”
Pre-2020, music venues have received a minute amount of funding. To receive support alongside these other aspects of the arts meant they achieved a kind of cultural parity, and although they may not be at the same level, it’s a big step in the right direction.