The Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted London's cultural scene, particularly theatre productions, which are struggling to regain stability even after five years. Freelancers faced uncertainty with zero income for extended periods, prompting some to pivot into different ventures like ice cream parlours. While audience numbers rebounded by 2022, the long-term effects included significant debts and job losses among small businesses reliant on the arts. City Hall aims to invest 10 million to aid recovery efforts in the creative sector, recognizing its vital contribution to London's economy, generating 50 billion annually.
"It was just absolutely horrendous because we didn't know how long it was going to last," theatre producer Eleanor Lloyd said. "The income went from a very healthy business that we'd been running here already for a year and a half, to zero income - I mean absolutely nothing."
"I remember having a conversation on a Zoom [call] with other theatre makers where we were being told that it might be that we never go to their theatre again," said actor Serene Sabah. "Will it ever come back?"
Justine Simons, City Hall's deputy mayor for culture, told BBC London that "culture had long-Covid". "A lot of the industry had to take on debt. There were a lot of job losses. This is an industry that's a very freelance industry, lots of small businesses and they were the types of businesses and jobs that got hit really hard."
City Hall is investing 10m to help boost the sector to "help it to continue to recover".
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