Further top-up payments and the establishment of a new fund for event businesses, which have previously not had access to COVID-19 event funding support, are to be made from the remaining £19.8 million of funding provided by the Scottish Government for the events industry.
Events businesses, which have previously received funding from either of the Event Industry Support Funds or the Pivotal Event Businesses Fund and who have had to cancel or postpone events in February and March, are to receive top-up payments. VisitScotland will be administering these payments with the EventScotland team, on behalf of the Scottish Government. Businesses eligible for this top-up will be contacted from next week (week commencing 14 March). There will be no application process for these businesses to complete, however, they will need to confirm:
- They are still trading;
- Their bank details remain the same;
- Confirm the name, date, location of the event(s) in Scotland they were due to organise and/or supply which was cancelled or restricted between 1 February 2022 and 31 March 2022;
- That the cancellation or restriction of such event(s) has resulted in a loss of projected income during the period stated above.
- If a supplier, the name and contact details of the event organiser or contractor.
Independent verification will also be carried out by VisitScotland to verify details before any payment is made.
Awards will be based on pre-COVID annual turnover, broken down as follows:
- £10,000 – £24,999 = £2,000
- £25,000 – £49,999 = £3,500
- £50,000 – £99,999 = £5,000
- £100,000 – £499,999 = £10,000
- £500,000 – £999,999 = £25,000
- £1,000,000 + = £50,000
The EventScotland team will also open a new fund for event businesses which have previously not had access to COVID-19 event funding support. This will typically look to support new businesses which have been established in the last two years, and which also have been impacted by the cancellation or restrictions on events during the period 8 December 2021 to 31 March 2022. Further details on this fund, including criteria and how to apply, will be made in the coming days.
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events: “While it is encouraging to see events returning in recent weeks, many in the events industry are still feeling the effects of the restrictions in December and January, and the subsequent impact into February and March. So we have continued to work with Scottish Government to ensure that financial support is provided to as broad a range of event businesses across the sector to help aid recovery.”
Source: VisitScotland
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