Sixty firefighters helped quell the overnight blaze at Koko in Camden, one of the capital’s most renowned venues. The London Fire Brigade said that at one point a third of the roof was on fire.
"Firefighters' quick action and hard work in the early stages meant the fire was contained to the roof and saved the rest of the building," said station commander Jon Lewis.
Across all formats, people bought or streamed the equivalent of 154 albums in 2019 – the highest level since 2006. A report from industry body the BPI found that legal streaming services such as Spotify and Apple are increasingly popular: use of these rose by more than a quarter on the previous year.
Kensington Palace, home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will host the immersive theatre production ‘United Queendom’. The play focuses on two of the palace’s former residents. Attendees will visit up to 14 rooms in the ‘make your own adventure’ style event.
Madani Younis, the former Southbank Centre Creative Director who left after less than a year in the job, has been appointed as Chief Executive Producer of the new Manhattan arts venue. He described his role, where he will work on commissions and commercial partnerships, as a "perfect marriage".
The $500m space opened in April last year and is run by Alex Poots, former Artistic Director of Manchester International Festival.
Arts Council England (ACE) Chair Sir Nicholas Serota told the Guardian that "there is obviously an idea about the arts which is about it being elitist" and that the sector would be "well-placed" if people were comfortable with both professional and amateur formats of the arts, as with sport.
Serota said that a priority for ACE's new 10 year strategy, published next month, would be supporting early career artists. And he suggested that the east of England and libraries could see more investment under ACE's forthcoming plans.
The planned relocation in May realises a "long-held ambition to imbed the orchestra in a diverse community" and become more inclusive. The organisation said it will contribute to a cultural regeneration of Wembley and build on its existing relationship with the London Borough of Brent, which will be the city's Borough of Culture in 2020: "[This is] exciting opportunity for the RPO genuinely to enrich a community through a combination of performance, community engagement and education activity. Wembley Park is the perfect choice for such a bold project," Managing Director James Williams said.
About 827,000 people - 311,000 of them tourists - contributed £92m of direct and indirect spending to Sheffield in 2017, according to a new report from UK Music. Per-person spend was highest for festival tickets, with 86,840 attendees spending an average of £94.42 each, and Sheffield City and the Derbyshire Dales attracted high box office sales of about £48 and £42 per person respectively. The report follows a national overview of live music's £5.2bn contribution released last month.
Significantly, this is the second time Morgan has appeared to change her mind about serving in Boris Johnson's administration. In 2018, she said she would refuse to work under the current Prime Minister, wrongly predicting she was "very unlikely to be asked" to do so anyway.
Labour MP Chris Bryant tweeted: "It stinks. You abandon your constituents, eschew the tough work of representing a constituency but remain in the Cabinet. That really is two fingers up to democracy."
A major Cabinet reshuffle is expected after the Brexit deadline of 31 January.
Croydon, Greenwich, Hounslow, Lewisham, Haringey, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Sutton will compete for £1.35m and the title of London Borough of Culture for 2021 or 2023. The successful bids will be announced in February. Brent has already been named London Borough of Culture for 2020.
Ulster Museum has acquired six etchings, the first works by the Dutch painter to enter a collection in Northern Ireland. They were a 'surprise' gift to the museum under Arts Council England's Government Acceptance in Lieu scheme. The scheme allows tax authorities to acquire the artworks as settlement for a £150,000 bill owed to the Exchequer, and later hand them to the museum.
A months-long investigation by MSPs has concluded that “urgent, robust action” is needed to ensure fair pay for artists and a viable future for the country’s cultural sector.
Bury's bid, titled 'Happy', has been revealed as the winner of £120,000 of investment over the next 12 months. Leader of Bury Council David Jones said the award reflected the strength of the town's cultural offer, citing the Met theatre and East Lancashire theatre.
New research from the British Medical Journal found visiting museums, theatres, concerts and art galleries once or twice a year can reduce the risk of death by 14%, with more regular attendance lowering the risk by as much as 31%. Researcher Dr Daisy Fancourt and her team analysed data from more than 6700 adults over the age of 50, as part of a wider study about ageing. Fancourt said further trials are needed.
The whistleblower alleged the council breached financial guidelines when making its case to move to new premises, saying the move could cost taxpayers millions in the long term. Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan said the council needed to seek her consent for its proposal to relocate to a site that costs 30% more to rent while still paying for its current building until 2025: "the council has not applied for such consent."
