The Scottish government has announced a £21m support package to support cultural and events organisations and freelancers.

The £21m is from the £100m package announced last week to compensate businesses affected by events cancellations and includes an additional £1m from existing events sector funds.

Creative Scotland will be responsible for administering £10.2m of the funding for cultural organisations and venues, and £8m for the Cancellation Fund for Creative Freelancers.

Nearly £3m aimed at the wider events supply chain will be administered by EventScotland.

‘Culture and events continue to be among the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19 as the emergence of a new variant is once again causing disruption and uncertainty,’ said culture secretary Angus Robertson.

‘The steps we’re asking the public to take to minimise the spread of the virus are having a severe financial impact on the sector at a time when they were just beginning to recover from previous waves of the coronavirus.

‘In the past few weeks, both myself and Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth have been speaking to freelancers and representatives from culture and events organisations to ensure they get immediate support to meet their needs.

‘This £21m in additional funding is vital to support culture and events organisations and protect the livelihoods of the people who work in the sector.’

Iain Munro, CEO, Creative Scotland said: ‘The COVID-19 rollercoaster seems never ending but we will work hard with the sector to pull together again and overcome the challenges that this new wave of the pandemic presents to ensure we are able to gather in cultural spaces to enjoy Scotland’s rich, diverse and world-renowned art and creativity, and to celebrate all that they bring to our lives, in so many different ways.’