Brighton & Hove Pride Awarded More Than £640k Lifeline From Culture Recovery Fund

Brighton and Hove Pride has been awarded £643,100 as part of the Government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF).

It's intended to helpe the organisation with challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future.

Brighton & Hove Pride is one of 1,385 cultural and creative organisations across the country receiving urgently needed support.

Today (Monday), £257million of investment has been announced as part of the very first round of the Culture Recovery Fund grants programme being administered by Arts Council England.

Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival also received support to the tune of £493,000, and the music service it manages, Brighton & Hove Music & Arts and East Sussex Music, received just over £348,000.

Brighton Dome will reopen its Concert Hall with a series of live socially distanced gigs from this Saturday (17).

Live Is Alive! is presented in collaboration with grassroots music venues to help support and protect the city’s vibrant music scene.

Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said:

“This funding is a vital boost for the theatres, music venues, museums and cultural organisations that form the soul of our nation. It will protect these special places, save jobs and help the culture sector’s recovery.

“These places and projects are cultural beacons the length and breadth of the country.

"This unprecedented investment in the arts is proof this government is here for culture, with further support to come in the days and weeks ahead so that the culture sector can bounce back strongly.”

Chair, Arts Council England, Sir Nicholas Serota, said:

“Theatres, museums, galleries, dance companies and music venues bring joy to people and life to our cities, towns and villages.

"This life-changing funding will save thousands of cultural spaces loved by local communities and international audiences.

"Further funding is still to be announced and we are working hard to support our sector during these challenging times.”

Paul Kemp, Director of Brighton & Hove Pride, said:

“Brighton Pride is an important community and cultural event for our region that raises essential funds for our community groups and charities as well as bringing in over £20.5 million to the local economy.

"We are delighted to have been awarded this grant from the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) that brings stability for our planning going forward.

"The funding will allow us to bring back our freelance professionals, key contractors and Pride core staff to begin the significant undertaking of pre event planning for the Brighton & Hove Pride 2021 festival.”

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome said:

“This news gives us real confidence that we can bring back arts events securely and safely to audiences and helps sustain Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival through this time of real threat to the arts.

"The government’s investment of £1.57bn recognises the enormous value economically and socially, that arts and culture brings to our lives and we’re enormously grateful to Arts Council England for their continued support.

"We can now plan for the future and move forward with more certainty.

"We have worked hard to preserve our amazing team of staff throughout this crisis and we are all committed to working to support artists, local communities, children and young people, and to helping the arts thrive again in the city and beyond.”    

Peter Chivers, Head of Brighton & Hove Music & Arts and East Sussex Music added:

“Playing music has been proven to have a positive impact on mental health and now more than ever, children and young people need creativity to keep them connected and motivated.

"This funding will help us continue to support young musicians through expert tuition, as well as expanding the number of pupils we can reach through online lessons, workshops and performances.”