Created as part of the Scottish Government’s £185m Business Support Fund, the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund will help venues who cannot yet reopen to their audiences due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus.

The fund will be run by Creative Scotland, who will publish full details of the fund shortly.

The UK Government has also announced a £1.57 billion support package to help the arts, culture and heritage industries weather the COVID-19 storm.

Scottish ministers also confirmed that the B&B Hardship Fund, which is part of the £185m Business Support Fund, will now be extended to cover those with a business account who have received no other COVID-19 related business grant support to date.

The B&B Hardship Fund and Newly Self-Employed Hardship Funds both remain open to new applicants until July 10.

Announcing the new funding, culture secretary Fiona Hyslop, said: “Our theatres and performing arts venues and the talented freelancers who work with them are an essential part of the fabric of Scotland’s culture and communities and promote our international reputation, and we are determined that they will survive and be able to thrive again.

“We reacted quickly to help culture and the creative industries from the earliest days of this pandemic, including through the £120m Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, which is unique to Scotland. This new fund is the next step.

“Our performing arts venues effectively had to close overnight, with an almost complete loss of income. There is no doubt that in doing so they saved lives, and for that I am extremely grateful.

“As we navigate our way through the pandemic, we know physical distancing is vital to ensuring that we do not see a second wave of infections, but we recognise the difficulties this presents for those in performing arts. This dedicated fund will be a vital lifeline to help performing arts venues continue to weather the storm. We are also actively considering support for grassroots music venues.

“We know the impact of this crisis will be long-term so ambitious action to support the future of these organisations, as well as our wider cultural infrastructure, is vital. We will continue to urge the UK Government to use their fiscal levers, such as significant borrowing powers, to back culture and creative industries with major investment. This will enable the Scottish Government to offer even more support to respond to this crisis and build for the future.”

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