Continental in Preston and Blackpool's Grand Theatre benefit from £4.5m grants boost

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has invested £4.5m in arts and cultural organisations across Lancashire through the second round of its Culture Recovery Fund .
The ContinentalThe Continental
The Continental

The Department has today announced that more than 2,700 cultural and creative organisations are to receive a share of £400 million as part of a vital financial boost from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

It has been awarded through Arts Council England, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.

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A total of 42 organisations have received funding in Lancashire including The New Continental, Preston; The Grand Theatre, Blackpool; and The Grand at Clitheroe.

Grand Theatre, BlackpoolGrand Theatre, Blackpool
Grand Theatre, Blackpool

The New Continental grant will be used for live music at both the Continental and its sister venue the Ferrett.

A spokesperson said: "Without the help from The Arts Council /DCMS it is unlikely both our venues could have survived this awful year."

The grant is for the months April 1 to June 30 for both the The Ferret and The Continental to ensure they are in a position to deliver live performance.

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The spokesperson added: "We have used the last year to provide a number of services to artists from free rehearsal space to live streaming their shows, from filming and recording music videos to supporting students in the arts.

"All our event staff, technical staff and managers are paid their wages out of the grant not furlough and we have managed to keep all of them busy and support many artists.

"Events are not great money spinners hence problems at The Guild Hall and 53 degrees - many struggle at the best of times but they are important to the community."

The DCMS funds are ring fenced and must be used for a specific purpose.

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Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said: “Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic.

"These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.

"We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”

These are some of the organisations that are to benefit:

Blackpool Grand Theatre £491,000.

Burnley Leisure £80,242.

New Continental LLP £87,000

Grand Clitheroe £261,811

Dukes Playhouse £75,000

Blitz Preston £65,301

They Eat Culture £32,058

Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues £33,506

Lancaster Footlights £153,503

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