Nightclub operators feel abandoned

Sister Bliss from dance act Faithless has condemned the government for the lack of help for nightclubs which she says have been "left to rot in a corner" during the pandemic in the UK.

The government says clubs must stay shut in line with current scientific advice to control the virus and no indication has been given about when they might open again. Many may probably never open again.

The musician said: "There is a lack of leadership at the top which means certain industries have been given support and others have been completely ignored"

" I think [clubbing] has been left to rot in a corner, so it's good to see that venues and artists are trying to galvanise it - with the Let the Music Play movement - trying to bring the plight of venues and freelancers, like myself, to the fore."

The Let the Music Play campaign saw 1,500 artists sign an open letter in July calling for support for the UK's music scene.

The government has announced a £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund, but there is uncertainty over how far this money will stretch and where it will go.

A government spokesman said: "Throughout the pandemic, nightclubs have access to the government's unprecedented package of support to help businesses, which includes business rates relief, tax deferrals, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and billions paid in loans and grants."

The Night Time Industries Association [NTIA] has lent its support to The Global Nighttime Recovery Plan, which is looking at the the future of dancefloor by proposing flexible and open clubbing experiences.

NTIA boss Michael Kill said the night time economy was "on a cliff edge", with furlough coming to an end soon. The government’s ban on business evictions for missing rent payments is also ending this month.

At the end of July, a survey of the association's members suggested that 58% fear they will not survive longer than two months without further government support [see earlier story]. And 71% were already set to make more than half of their work force redundant in a matter of weeks.