Culture and Post-Covid Recovery in the United Kingdom

Assessing the Post-Covid Landscape of Culture in the United Kingdom

The past five years have been a turbulent time for the arts and cultural sectors, just as for every other field. A sector reliant on visitor numbers and tourism was decimated and faced a fundamental shift in its operating model. Like all sectors, it moved into survival mode and could no longer rely on the combined funding streams which had come to characterise its mixed model of funding—namely, earned income, private funding, and public funding. The choice came down to whether public funding would come to its aid—as, in many cases, it did—or whether it would not survive. The images of closed venues and theatres, and then operating with socially distanced seating, of audience members sitting apart outside, or of productions filmed to empty audiences or with drive in audiences, are ingrained in the minds of culture lovers. From this, however, new models of operating emerged, new companies developed, and new forms of engagement materialised.

Figure 1: Zhur, Irina (2021). Rows of Red Seats. https://www.pexels.com/photo/rows-of-red-seats-9615896/

There is much research already written on areas surrounding the importance of culture to the economy (BOP Consulting, 2010; Flew, 2013). Further, there is a constant drive to emphasise the benefits that the creative industries have in a country. This has also affected the direction in which cultural policy is orientated. When taking the British example alone, there have been changes to this across successive governments. Whether it be the focus of cultural policy on national heritage in the immediate postwar period, and of a focus being on what might be considered ‘high arts’, to a shift towards cultural policy emphasising educational and social benefits of culture, to a focus on the economics of culture in the 1980s and 1990s, to a move towards a concept of the creative economy (Klaic, 2012; Schanke, 2007; Turnbull, 2008; Upchurch, 2016; Wu, 2002). This has made it difficult for the cultural sector to keep pace. These economic benefits may, for example, involve culture as means of driving competitiveness (KEA European Affairs, 2025; Chen and Lin, 2021).

There is now, indeed, an emphasis on soft power (Nisbett, 2025) and using culture as a form of soft power and in cultural diplomacy. From a purely commercial perspective, if the cultural sector wants to justify public funding, for example, to what policy focus should it emphasise? If it is trying to emphasise its economic value, then it will focus on one set of outputs. If it is aiming to emphasise soft power, that may bring in a marketing dimension of using culture to ‘sell’ or ‘show off’ opportunities for tourism and investment globally. If it is trying to showcase its benefits in areas such as education, health, and wellbeing, it will focus on other areas, and any funding applications or reports written will focus accordingly, as well, of course, as the actual work that the organisations undertake.

At the beginning of 2025, the midpoint of the decade, it is opportune to evaluate where culture and cultural policy currently are and what the landscape of culture currently looks like. This piece shall briefly outline some of the discussions that have been ongoing in this regard, in particular in the context of the post-Covid cultural recovery.

The Public and Private Funding Mix: Pre and Post-pandemic

Firstly, one can assess the picture when it comes to funding and can compare these figures using data from before and after the pandemic and lockdown (Arts Council England and MTM 2019; Arts Council England and AEA Consulting 2022). Taking the figures from 2018/19, earned income amounted to 52% of the overall funding mix for the cultural sector, with 27% coming from public funding, and 21% via private investment. A year earlier, in 2017/18, these figures were 52% for earned income, 33% for public funding, and 15% from private investment respectively. In this breakdown, private investment encompasses trusts and foundations, business investment, and individual giving, of which individual giving was the largest type, followed by trusts and foundations, and then business investment. In 2019/20 these figures remained steady, at 50% for earned income, 30% for public funding, and 20% for private investment. In 2020/21, however, as the pandemic and lockdown caused venues and cultural organisations to be closed down alongside everything else, these figures changed dramatically. In this year, 63% of funding came from public funding, 15% from earned income, and 22% from private investment. These figures are represented in the below table.

Table 1: Funding mix in England, 2017/18 – 2020/21

	Earned income	Public funding	Private investment
2017/18	52%	33%	15%
2018/19	52%	27%	21%
2019/20	50%	30%	20%
2020/21	15%	63%	22%

Figure 2: Gunson, Jonathan (2025). Funding mix in England, 2017/18 – 2020/21.

Figures based on data from the Arts Council England and MTM (2019) and the Arts Council England and AEA Consulting (2022).

When one considers the breakdown of private investment specifically, in 2017/18 there was 43% from individual giving, 38% from trusts and foundations, and 18% from business investment. These figures were 38%, 44%, and 18% in 2018/19, 44%, 37%, and 18% in 2019/2020, and 44%, 41%, and 15% in 2020/21. What can be seen from these figures is that the most dominant form of private investment has varied between individual giving and trusts and foundations, but both are similar percentages, and the trend in private investment did not change a great deal during the years of the pandemic. These figures can be found below.

Table 2: Private investment mix in England, 2017/18 – 2020/21

	Individual giving	Trusts and foundations	Business investment
2017/18	43%	38%	18%
2018/19	38%	44%	18%
2019/20	44%	37%	18%
2020/21	44%	41%	15%

Figure 3: Gunson, Jonathan (2025). Private investment mix in England, 2017/18 – 2020/21.

Figures based on data from the Arts Council England and MTM (2019) and the Arts Council England and AEA Consulting (2022).

There are also further trends that can be identified, for example, on a regional basis—with London, as the capital, having a dominant share of funds—and based on art form, with music, then theatre, then visual arts forming the three most dominant focuses. This shows that private investment remained steady, with many donors continuing to support the sector, but earned income largely collapsed, and public funding took over as organisations sought support to stay afloat financially amidst forced closure. Recovery soon came into focus. The next set of figures will show how the lack of funding in the cultural sector has changed over the immediate years following the pandemic. There is already some indication that there is a recovery in progress.

Case Study: Manchester and the Cultural Recovery

An example of this, on a regional basis, is regarding Manchester. One reason why Manchester may be such a successful example of cultural recovery could be the focus on place and devolution. In Manchester, there is a strong interest in devolution and regional autonomy, and this has implications for areas such as cultural devolution. Where the cultural sector recovers, even following challenges or crises, it may be worth exploring further whether this is related, directly or indirectly, to cities and regions having the levers to control their own decisions and the knowledge to focus on its own specific local examples rather than having those decisions made for it from a distance.

Manchester, for example, has been recovering from the pandemic with an economic boost of £342 million from culture (Chambers, 2025). The importance of the cultural offering for Manchester in terms of driving economic growth, as well as contributing to the happiness and wellbeing of residents, was emphasised in the Annual Culture Report of Manchester City Council, which was heard by the Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee in February 2025 (Manchester City Council, 2025a; 2025b).  The cultural sector in Manchester has generated over £342 million in economic impact and supported at least 4800 full-time jobs (Manchester City Council, 2025b). Manchester City Council conducted a city-wide consultation to help guide and develop a ten-year plan for the purpose of helping and growing culture and creativity in more places, involving more people, and connecting more communities (Manchester City Council, 2025b; n.d.).

Figure 4: Shields, Szymon (2019). Grayscale Photo of People Walking on the Street. https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photo-of-people-walking-on-the-street-4172121/

When considering the impact of culture in Manchester, it is shown to be substantial. Manchester City Council invested £23.1 million in libraries, arts and culture in 2023-24. This has then assisted in the leveraging of another £159.2 million from other public, private, and other streams of funding (Manchester City Council, 2025b). Of the aforementioned 4800 full-time equivalent jobs or more, in addition to 16 apprentices and 2284 volunteers, this has helped the city in a swift recovery from the pandemic (Manchester City Council, 2025b). Further, the footfall in Manchester city centre is returning to the levels prior to the pandemic, at 93% compared to the levels in 2019/20 (Manchester City Council, 2025b). Culture is, therefore, an important component of the city economy and has contributed to the post-Covid recovery in Manchester.

Employment and Policy: Challenges and Considerations for the Cultural Sector

Despite the evidence of success and recovery, the picture remains mixed. Employment, for example, is seeing economic churn. Mobius Industries (2024) found in their second annual survey that whilst 91% of those in PR found their work meaningful, 62% had considered leaving the arts in the previous year, and leaders in the performing arts are, as of February 2025, leaving at the highest rate since 2018 (Stone, 2025). Regarding the landscape of arts PR, for example, Mobius Industries (2023; 2024; 2025) has run its third annual survey, The State of Arts PR Survey 2025, assessing arts PR across the UK. In 2024, influencer relations were listed in the top five responsibilities by 25%, with only 3% the previous year, and coverage in 2024 was easier to achieve than had been predicted at the year beginning. Worries expressed for the upcoming year, 2025, included a decline in space and an oversaturated market, with two-thirds citing these concerns, whilst regional broadcast was cited as the easiest to achieve comparable to the previous year, whilst national broadcast was cited as the most difficult (Mobius Industries, 2025). Reasons for this included outlets closing or merging, journalist redundancies, and competition for space increasing, with participants looking instead to influencers (Mobius Industries, 2025). Further, recruitment was found to have been easier than the previous year, up to 31% from 9% the previous year (Mobius Industries, 2025).

Figure 5: GEORGESPERSPECTIVE (2021). Brown Concrete Building Under Gray Clouds. https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-concrete-building-under-gray-clouds-9752435/

When considering Europe more broadly, there have been concerns that the EU has not placed enough focus on culture (Culture Policy Forum, 2024). There have been concerns expressed over budgetary cuts in EU nations, and whilst investment in culture is also emphasised as being of importance for the European Union outside of the EU borders, budgetary cuts combined with political changes and other issues such as visa charges and rejections have affected the cultural sector (Culture Policy Forum, 2025). Political pressures and polarisation, in the museum sector, for example, have been highlighted as a concern (KEA European Affairs, 2025; Network of European Museum Organisations, 2025). Despite this, there are nonetheless calls, for example, from the ministers of culture from all 27 member states to the European Commission to sustain their commitment to the cultural and creative sector (KEA European Affairs, 2025).

Concluding Thoughts

It is hoped that this piece has provided an overview of the current cultural landscape in the UK, and a comparative assessment of where culture currently lies, where it has been, and where it may now go. The recent evidence suggests that the cultural sector is recovering, and the evidence of the benefits of culture in terms of economic benefits continue to be emphasised and pushed by the cultural sector. The extent to which earned income may recover remains to be seen. Concerns, nonetheless, remain, as to the focus and direction of culture, with churn regarding employment, and looming clouds on the horizon regarding political developments. This will continue to be an area to be investigated and followed as further data is released.

Bibliographical References

Arts Council England & AEA Consulting. (2022). Arts Council England Private Investment in Culture Survey Report 2022 (pp. 2–4). Arts Council England and AEA Consulting. https://catalogus.boekman.nl/pub/P22-0502.pdf

Arts Council England and MTM. (2019). Private Investment in Culture Survey. https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Private%20Investment%20in%20Culture%20Survey%202019.pdf

BOP Consulting. (2010). Mapping the Creative Industries: A Toolkit. Creative and Cultural Economy Series ⁄ 2. The British Council. https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/media/uploads/files/English_mapping_the_creative_industries_a_toolkit_2-2.pdf

Chambers, K. (2025, February 12). Manchester “bounces back” from pandemic with £342m economic boost from culture. The Stage. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/manchester-bounces-back-from-pandemic-with-342m-economic-boost-from-culture

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KEA European Affairs. (2025, February 10). Wrap-up: KEA’s January Cultural Policy Digest. Retrieved February 20, 2025, from https://keanet.eu/wrap-up-keas-january-cultural-policy-digest/

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Nisbett, M. (2025, February 13). Soft power: The role of culture in a hyper-globalised world. Arts Professional. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/feature/soft-power-the-role-of-culture-in-a-hyper-globalised-world

Schanke, R. A. (Ed.). (2007). Angels in the American Theater: Patrons, Patronage, and Philanthropy. Southern Illinois University Press.

Stone, M. (2025, February 10). Performing arts leaders departing roles at highest rate since 2018. Arts Professional. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/performing-arts-leaders-departing-roles-at-highest-rate-since-2018

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