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Spanning theatres in London's West End, opera
houses and ballet companies putting on big-budget performances
to provincial venues up and down the country, the industry is a
prominent British export and popular among tourists and locals
alike.
But it has been left without a live audience since lockdown
measures were imposed in March while other sectors begin to
reopen.
"I want all our cultural institutions to return to normal,"
minister Oliver Dowden told Sky News on Monday.
"Very soon I hope we will be able to permit outdoor performances
and then later over the summer be able to have socially distant
performances."
The government said the 1.57 billion pound ($1.96 billion)
investment was the biggest ever for Britain's culture sector.
On Saturday, England took its biggest steps yet towards the
resumption of normal life when pubs, hairdressers and
restaurants reopened, helped by the government cutting social
distancing guidelines from 2 metres to 1 metre-plus.
But it is unclear how that could be implemented in many cultural
venues which rely on near-full capacity to turn a profit.
The Royal Albert Hall, home to events such as the 8-week long
run of classical music concerts known as the BBC Proms, warned
late last month that it would run out of cash by early 2021 as
it lost income and refunded tickets.
On Monday it welcomed the government's cash boost for the
sector, which includes grants and repayable finance.
"It's an absolute life saver for all of us," chief executive
Craig Hassall said.
"Until we can open we don't know how far the money will go, what
the money will be for and opening the venue will be the highest
priority for all of us."
($1 = 0.8016 pounds)
(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Alistair Smout, Editing by
Timothy He
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