Rare in the British cultural sector has a good word for the government left. That has changed with yesterday’s announcement of a Corona-rescue package in the amount of nearly 1.6 billion pounds abruptly. With noticeable relief, the leading actors in the stage world, the museums, the monument protection and other areas of the creative industries of the Kingdom to the announcement of this money have responded to the syringe. Prime Minister Johnson takes every opportunity to mark the achievements of his Nation with the adjective “world’s best” characteristic – such as a corona test and contact tracking App that he introduced in may, the prospect of a month later, however, after an embarrassing return had to turn buried. In connection with the British cultural sector, his penchant for exaggerated claims is less inappropriate.
Gina Thomas
feuilleton correspondent, based in London.
F. A. Z.
From the Executive Director of the Covent Garden Opera about the head of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the conductor Simon Rattle and the Musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to the Directors of the major national museums in London, a cultural Manager and artist, joined in the chorus of approval. Although the package in its mixed form of grants and cheap loans just First aid – especially since it is unclear when and how the performing arts in the face of continuing distance rules will be back in gear, it exceeds the expectations of the industry. A gloomy prognosis of the economic research Institute, Oxford Economics, have estimated that the culture operation due to end-of-year expected loss of a fifth of its workstations from disaster with devastating consequences. According to the words of the Minister of culture, the national auxiliary is to contribute to the program now to “weather the storm”. It also provides financial resources to the resumption of construction work on cultural projects and cultural heritage sites.
For some organizations comes to the rescue, however, too late. The already Hand-to-mouth living, regional platforms have been hit particularly hard by the Lockdown. The Nuffield Southampton Theatre, the two theatres operating in the South of England port city, has already logged in may bankruptcy and 86 of the employees dismissed. The Leicester Haymarket Theatre has gone bankrupt, and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has signaled in the past week-related redundancies for 65 per cent of its workforce operation. But the National Theatre in London has not communicated to four hundred of its temporary workers that their jobs were in August, which will come into force limiting the government wage rate is durable. It is still unclear whether the aid package will avert these cuts.
