English National Opera is to receive public funding of up to £24 million to support its move to a new HQ outside London — while keeping a base there.
Arts Council England sparked an outcry last year when it told the company it would lose all of its funding unless it quit London as part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda.
The ENO said it was “baffled and shocked” by the decision, amid warnings that the move could destroy the ensemble.
In January the Arts Council gave it a year’s reprieve, granting it £11.5 million to sustain its work in London in 2024. It also softened its stance on the opera’s relocation, allowing it to keep its Coliseum base near Covent Garden while moving its headquarters elsewhere.
Now the opera company has announced it has been invited to apply for the investment funds which would start in 2024 for three years in addition to the £11.5 million already agreed.
The funding would support the ENO’s “reimagined artistic and business model” to have a primary base outside of the capital while allowing it to continue to “own, manage and put on work at the London Coliseum”.
A joint statement said: “Following development work by the English National Opera, Arts Council England has set a budget of up to £24 million investment for 2024-26. The company will now start the process of making an application to the Arts Council for an award up to this amount. ENO’s developing plans are based on a reimagined artistic and business model with a primary base out of London, whilst continuing to own, manage and put on work at the London Coliseum.”
It added that the provisional budget would be subject to application and assessment with a decision by ACE expected this summer. The organisation said it had a “shared ambition” for the ENO to be in a “strong position” to apply to the Arts Council’s national portfolio of funded organisations from 2026.
The Musicians’ Union welcomed the funding proposal and said the news offered “more security” in the short term. However, it warned that the provisional budget still represented a real-terms 24 per cent cut since 2015 given inflation and that moving to a new location would bring unknown costs.
It said it would continue to work with the ENO to ensure union members get “the best possible outcome”.
Musicians’ Union London regional organiser Jamie Pullman added: “English National Opera must not be allowed to dwindle or wither on the vine.”
