Sydney live music venues get over $200k in recovery grants
The City of Sydney is supporting restaurants, bars and venues to get back into gear.
In its latest round of business support grants, the City has awarded funds to 20 night-time and live music businesses, worth a total of $222,334.
Sydney’s night-time economy is critical to the city’s future – it generates more than $4.2 billion each year, with just under 5,000 businesses employing more than 35,500 people.
For businesses looking to diversify, the grants are enabling them to trade later through creative programming and initiatives, attract punters and create lively, safe and engaging precincts.
The new grants will help upgrade a range of venues including the Golden Age Cinema and Bar, Venue 505, Giant Dwarf Theatre, Gaelic Club, MoshPit and Griffin Theatre Company.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore acknowledged the unprecedented challenges for Sydney’s night-time economy, which was only just recovering after the lockout laws were lifted in January.
“Businesses that operate at night were among the first and hardest hit by COVID-19 restrictions, with many hospitality workers and musicians not only losing employment, but also unable to access financial support from the Federal Government given many are casual or migrant workers.
“As we cautiously ease physical distancing restrictions and return to the wonderful restaurants, bars and venues around our city, it is critical that we do everything we can to support these businesses to get back on their feet and enter the recovery phase.
“These grants are on top of previously announced COVID-19 relief measures and are part of our long term investment in Sydney’s night-time economy, supporting live music and performance venues to diversify or expand their programming and upgrade their equipment.”
Since 2017, the City has approved more than $1.4 million in funding for over 80 grants to support businesses through its night-time diversification and live music and performance grants.
These grants are helping businesses to upgrade their facilities and equipment, improve acoustics and minimise noise to surrounding properties or introduce live entertainment to their venues.