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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Laura Snapes

UK grassroots music venues show lowest decline since 2018 as sector stabilises post-pandemic

United Kingdom MVT GMV
The band Beak> onstage at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff.
Beak> performing at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff in 2024. Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures

The number of grassroots music venues (GMV) in the UK shrank in effect by just nine in 2025, the lowest rate of annual decline since 2018.

Thirty venues closed permanently between July 2024 and 2025 and 48 ceased functioning as GMVs, citing financial viability, change in ownership and eviction or redevelopment. However, 69 spaces that had previously ceased operating as GMVs returned to the sector.

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