The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has cautiously welcomed the first round of rescue grants from the Government's Cultural Recovery Fund, which today awarded 1385 arts organisations funding to help keep them afloat.
More than £257 million was given by the government, the first payment from a total fund of £1.57bn.
A number of London’s grassroots music venues — many of which have had to remain closed throughout the pandemic — are among the beneficiaries of the first round of funding.
Famed Oxford Street venue the 100 Club received £491,486, Shoreditch spot Village Underground was given £398,000, and south London's Clapham Grand was handed £300,000.
Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush was awarded £679,603, while Camden’s The Jazz Cafe got £250,000.
Elsewhere, there were grants for The Camden Assembly, Corsica Studios, Cafe OTO, Electric Ballroom, The Lexington and various others.
MVT, the body that has been campaigning on behalf of grassroots music venues throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, said the first round of funding was “a huge step forward in the efforts to reopen every venue safely”.
It praised the “extraordinary” work done by the Department of Culture Media and Sport, and Arts Council England, in delivering the fund.
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, said: “Our immediate focus now will be to work with every venue that was ineligible for funding, and any venue that was unsuccessful in their application to this fund, to ensure that at the end of this crisis communities right across the country have a thriving and healthy live music scene to return to.
“Our continued mission remains to reopen every venue safely, an aim that with this support from the government we are confident is now achievable.”
The full list of venues supported by the Culture Recovery Fund can be downloaded here.
