Brighton Festival is #HereForCulture
Brighton Festival is able to bring events back to audiences thanks to support received today from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
We are amongst 2,300 cultural organisations who have been allocated more than £300 million by Arts Council England to help with recovery and reopening over the next few months. Brighton Festival has received £296,500 to ensure it can bring events back to audiences online, outdoors and safely back on stage with the re-opening of Brighton Dome Concert Hall from this May.
Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival said:
“We’re delighted to receive this invaluable support in the week we announced that Brighton Festival will return safely back to the city in May. Since last year’s cancellation and with the continued closure of Brighton Dome, it’s been hard to imagine that we’d be able to look forward to this moment. This funding will also allow us to support our music services as students return to lessons and to present a Festival that works with local artists, community organisations and a range of creative professionals who are all committed to and excited about coming back."
"We are enormously proud to be in a city that believes in the value of the arts, both economically and socially, and to have such loyal audiences who we know want the arts to thrive and survive beyond the pandemic.”
The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health advice changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England added:
“Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work. We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”
Brighton Festival 2021 takes place from 1 May to 31 May and features 94 events, performances and installations, both as specially commissioned online projects, as livestreams and across multiple outdoor and indoor locations extending from Brighton to Worthing. A third of the events will be free to attend.
