Grassroots Venues To Receive £230k Help from Music Venues Trust

In the past year, venues across the UK have plummeted into crisis following COVID-19 closures and a severe absence of government support. The Music Venue Trust has revealed this week that they will be donating an additional £230,000 to 24 venues facing imminent closure that are “unable to access sufficient funding”, following their November campaign to prevent the closure of 30 other venues that are in danger.

CEO of the Music Venue Trust, Mark Davyd, said this week: "As we approach the end of this horrendous year for grassroots music venues we felt the need to make a direct intervention in order to provide some relief for 24 venues who were unable to access the funding they need to survive. We have received incredible support from audiences, artists, individual donors, companies who have made financial contributions and from the wider music sector. As a result, we are able to make a distribution of £230k of emergency funding to stave off the immediate threat of closure and provide a firm footing for survival."

"We want to thank everyone who has helped, supported and contributed to our #saveourvenues campaign this year, including the UK government, particularly the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Arts Council England, Mayor of London, and local authorities around the country; it has been truly overwhelming and humbling to see how much grassroots music venues matter to so many people. We particularly want to thank our friends in the media for continuing to shine a spotlight on the plight of grassroots music venues."