Photo: Gary Mather for Live4ever
As England enters its second lockdown of the year, joining other parts of the UK in their own interpretations of tighter restrictions, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has at least been able to clear one thing up.
The live-streamed gigs which have become an increasingly regular feature of 2020 will be allowed to continue, Dowden has confirmed on Twitter during a Q&A thread which demonstrates just how easy to follow the government’s rules are.
“Arts venues are places of work, so people can come into them for work, if it cannot be undertaken from home,” he wrote. “This includes rehearsals and performance. Audiences are not permitted.”
These concerts have taken place both indoor and out during the past few months, but doors have been shut on live music venues for the majority of 2020, putting many grassroots hubs’ futures in danger.
A cut of the government’s £1.57b Cultural Recovery Fund is helping though, the Music Venue Trust recently revealing 89% of those which had applied for assistance received what they had asked for, securing their viability until April 2021 in the process.
