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Oliver Basciano believes the Southbank Centre’s problems stem from conservative management, government cuts and a ‘byzantine’ arts funding system that has rendered it “beholden to stifling commercial interests”.

The one thing everyone agrees is that the Southbank Centre is in deep trouble. In May, the institution made an unusually public plea for government help. Management predicted the best-case scenario was ending the financial year with a £5 million loss, having exhausted all reserves, used the £4 million received from the furlough scheme and having gobbled up the remainder of its Arts Council grant. All the while, with the exception of the Hayward Gallery, the 21-acre site on London’s Thameside, incorporating both the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, remains closed.
It was pitiful news, but there was worse to come... Keep reading on the Spectator
 

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