"Merlin Cinemas mission and driving ethos has always been to bring the cinema experience to places where people have little or no access to experience film at the cinema and further to restore and preserve beautiful and interesting old cinema buildings. Local cinemas can and should be a big part of each individual community that they serve. The Culture Recovery Fund will be a welcomed life line in continuing this mission as well as securing the many valuable jobs the company provides to the local economies. It will enable our team to return to doing what they love most by bringing the big screen experience and the magic of the movies to communities up and down the UK."
Culture creates jobs, supports livelihoods, and brings joy to everyone. The UK leads the world in the creative industries and we can all feel pride in that. Now, in these challenging times, it’s our turn to show our support for culture. With an unprecedented investment through the £1.57bn Cultural Recovery Fund, the government is #HereForCulture so it can weather the storm of coronavirus and come back stronger. And we are #HereForCulture too. #HereForCulture is a movement that unites the public, government and cultural organisations in support of our fantastic cinemas, theatres, music venues, museums, galleries and heritage. With more and more culture being curated online, there is no better time to support and enjoy all the new and exciting ways culture is available to us. By being #HereForCulture, we aren’t just supporting the people in the industry, we’re also supporting communities across the country.