The Association Of Independent Festivals (AIF) has praised the government's Culture Recovery Fund for providing a "lifeline" for successful applicants.
AIF members received financial support totalling £4,461,976, in the first round of funding. Beneficiaries included NASS Festival (£585,000), End Of The Road Festival (£250,000), Lost Village (£250,000), Bluedot (£245,000), Y Not Festival (£240,000), Deer Shed (£238,590) and Nozstock Festival (£70,000).
Of the 31 applications, 22 (71%) were successful, with grants ranging from 50,000 to £783,939.
This will have a hugely positive impact on the survival of these businesses
Paul Reed, AIF
“We warmly welcome this intervention from government and the results of the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund. 71% of AIF members who applied for a CRF grant in round one have been offered funding and it's nothing short of a lifeline for those who have been successful. We thank DCMS and Arts Council England for this support, which amounts to almost £4.5m into the independent festival sector across our membership. This will have a hugely positive impact on the survival of these businesses.
"We are pleased that we were able to work positively with DCMS officials to ensure that festival organisers were eligible for the fund and they should be praised for their diligence in supporting the sector. We’re also aware that not all independent festivals had good news today and not all received funding. We’ll continue to support, represent and fight for our membership throughout this crisis."
According to AIF, the UK’s festivals will miss out on an entire year’s worth of income due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have lost an average of £375,000 per event. The body represents 67 festivals in total, with a collective capacity of over 900,000.
Organisations that applied for grants under £1 million were informed on Monday (October 12), with further funding due to be announced in the coming days and weeks.
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) previously hailed the release of the first round of funding as a "huge step forward" in its efforts to reopen every venue safely. Check out reaction from other music industry bodies here.
