Royal Albert Hall faces £20m shortfall. Picture: Getty By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London 1K The Royal Albert Hall is a beacon of UK arts and music, hailed by the government as a “crown jewel” venue. So why does it need £20m to survive? The Royal Albert Hall is in an “extremely perilous” state, its chief exec has said. The independent Kensington concert venue has launched an appeal to raise £20,000,000 for its survival, following overwhelming damages by the coronavirus pandemic. Since its enforced closure in March, the great hall has lost £18m in income and £6.5m in refunded ticket sales. Now, after six months with no income, its reserves are exhausted. What about the £1.75bn arts package? Well, indeed. After finding out it wasn’t eligible for any of the government’s emergency grants , the Albert Hall applied for a repayable loan which, if confirmed, will arrive in December. Chief exec Craig Has...
