As reported on December 15, 2020, in Conference & Meeting World newsletter, The Scottish Government has announced new funding of £13m (US$17.3m) to provide further support for the events sector in the country, much of which has been unable to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of this, £6m has been committed for the establishment of a new fund which will open this week to support event businesses which are critical to Scotland’s events sector, and without which the capacity to deliver major events would be significantly reduced.
Organisations applying to the fund must meet the eligibility criteria including having an annual turnover in excess of £500k prior to the Covid-19 pandemic; be directly involved in the delivery and organisation of at least five major events, festival or business events each year; employ a minimum number of staff, and events must be the primary source of the organisation’s income. The fund is intended to support those pivotal businesses that operate at a size and scale in their sector and/or location where the loss or insolvency of that business would have a significant and detrimental impact on Scotland’s ability to continue to host and stage major events. Additionally, the fund will be targeted to support businesses which are experiencing critical financial problems that threaten insolvency or significant job losses due to the impact of Covid-19.