City of Culture responds to Covid-19 pressures

A test event for the launch of Coventry City of Culture has been cancelled and the money earmarked for it, and for the Godiva Festival, is being redistributed to local artistic commissioning opportunities. The Coventry City of Culture Trust has also postponed the launch of its apprenticeship programme until the start of June.

The trust has set up a £60,000 Coronavirus Resilience Fund and the first £10,000 of grants have been distributed this week to support local individuals and organisations working in the cultural sector who have been directly impacted by the pandemic.

CEO Martin Sutherland said the trust remained 'determined' to support partners in the voluntary and charity sector and pledged to honour all existing employment and freelance contracts.