Increased Financial Support Announced For NZ's Event Industry

Much-needed relief has been announced for Aotearoa's live event industry, in the form of a significant boost to The Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund and Arts and Culture Event Support Scheme. Last week's shift to Red traffic light status left our events community to operate with none of the financial safety nets provided under the previous alert Level system, outlined in artist / musician Jazmine Mary's urgent letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern — prompting key local venues to announce their temporary closure including Wellington's San Fran.

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni stated: "the Red traffic light setting, whilst needed to protect the health and safety of New Zealanders, has had an impact on the livelihoods of those who make a living out of arts and culture. I’m confident that our move to extend critical support schemes for New Zealand’s arts and cultural event sector will provide some relief and help our wonderful creative communities to get back on their feet.”

The new boost in funding includes:

- Arts and Culture Event Support Scheme will be expanded to $70 million, extended to events scheduled to take place before 31st January 2023, that were already planned before the move to Red. The scheme covers events with an attendee capacity of 100 to 5000 ticketed, or more than 5000 un-ticketed (free). For official details head over HERE (the website will be updated today).

- The Cultural Sector Emergency Relief Fund is to be boosted by an additional $35.5 million. This includes "a new one-off $5000 grant to self-employed or sole trader practitioners who can show proof of practice as a cultural sector practitioner and show proof of a loss of income or opportunity." Support for organisations (including sole traders) "that are at clear risk of no longer operating viably" will be boosted to $300,000 maximum per application, up from the previous limit of $100,000. For official details head over HERE (the website will be updated today).

On the new grant for self-employed or sole trader practitioners, Carmel Sepuloni stated: "It's the equivalent to about eight weeks of what would be the wage subsidy, and recognises that artists are in a very difficult and challenging situation at the moment because of the restrictions on them that come with red in the [Covid] Protection Framework. In the next few weeks we will work with the arts sector to make it more accessible that it has been."