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Economic Development

M&S Bank Arena and conference centre gets £3m Government grant as venue confirms Christmas events will take place

Great news for the group, which along with the entire events sector has been hit hard by the pandemic

The M&S Bank Arena and Exhibition Centre

A £3m Government grant has been awarded to the group operating the M&S Bank Arena and conference centre, with the venue also confirming Christmas events will take place this year.

ACC Liverpool Group is one of 35 major cultural organisations among the first to receive a grant from the £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, with £75m of investment announced at the weekend.

The pandemic has presented the waterfront venue with one of its biggest challenges ever, with 34 concerts having so far been cancelled, meaning an estimated loss of £18m in economic impact to the region.

But on Saturday, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced the huge venue is to get £2.97m - almost the maximum available - from the rescue fund unveiled earlier this year to help venues through the crisis.

It comes after the venue in August announced it had offered staff voluntary redundancy.

Bob Prattey, chief executive of the ACC Liverpool Group, who earlier this year said the pandemic had been the of his career, said: “We are extremely grateful for the financial support we have received from the Culture Recovery Fund during this very challenging time. 

"The grant will be used towards the operational costs of the arena until we are able to return to staging full capacity large scale arena shows. 

“We continue to stand by our colleagues across the live music industry and support the hard work delivered to date through initiatives such as We Make Events and Let The Music Play.