Royal Albert Hall won't survive its 150th anniversary without urgent financial support

The iconic London venue is due to celebrate its 150th anniversary in March 2021, but the venue chief executive Craig Hassall has told i newspaper that the venue will go bust before it can celebrate the 150-year milestone.

Royal Albert Hall was apparently the busiest music venue in the world in 2019, and has already lost £12million due to the coronavirus pandemic (which has forced the venue to close its doors for more than 100 days). i reports that the venue has already taken out a £5million loan to stay afloat, but is already in need of another £5-£10million loan to secure its future.

Hassall told i, "The Government support has been very oblique and vague. We have lobbied hard and consistently across the sector. But [Culture Secretary] Oliver Dowden’s roadmap for recovery has no dates and nothing firm."

"There is no guidance from Government on when we can open or how we can open," Hassall continues. "Without that it’s impossible for us to trade – and that means the whole sector."

Although the future of live music is still uncertain, Royal Albert Hall would need to sell 80% of tickets in order to turn over a profit. If the live music industry returns with reduced capacity shows and social distancing measures still in place, it still wouldn't allow venues to earn money. Hassall says, "Until venues can open without social distancing, the live music industry is finished."