London’s Southbank Centre, which includes the Hayward Gallery and the Arts Council Collection, has announced that it faces a loss of at least £5 million and the full depletion of its reserves as a result of COVID-19-related social-distancing measures.
‘There will be a need to make some staff redundant and the organisation will cease to be a going concern before the end of the year if further urgent support is not secured,’ the organisation warned in a press release, which also stated that the centre faces the possibility of a mothballing and full closure until April 2021, alongside a 30 percent reduction in visitor capacity when it does eventually reopen.
While a grant from Arts Council England currently makes up 37 percent of the organisation’s income, the organisation stated that ‘the mandatory closure of the venues, bars and restaurants has led to the immediate and catastrophic loss of 60% of its income’. The Southbank Centre called on the UK government to take three key steps to protect the Centre’s future and that of other arts organisations in the UK:
1. Extend the furlough scheme beyond October for the cultural sector.
2. Develop a large-scale intervention to support the arts sector as it navigates this crisis and which helps it survive and plan for the future.
3. Support those self-employed artists and musicians who do not qualify under the current financial support schemes.
Based in London, the Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery as well as being home to the National Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. It is also home to four Resident Orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and four Associate Orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain).
