The Cavern Club , a historic Liverpool music venue and the place where The Beatles began their career, is at risk of closing permanently due to the coronavirus crisis. This information was revealed by owners of other venues and government officials.
Joe Anderson , the city's mayor, told the Liverpool Echo that while venues are allowed to open across the UK with social distancing rules, the Cavern could "close forever" if the government's Cultural Recovery Fund is not extended.
“The fact that the world-famous Cavern may close forever because of Covid-19 should open the government’s eyes to the danger the music industry is facing. This virus has already caused unimaginable pain and grief, and now it is proving to be a threat to our cultural scene,” said Anderson.
One of the club's directors, Bill Heckle , told Echo that the Cavern Club has been losing £30,000 a week since the start of the pandemic and recently had to lay off 20 employees. "We decided a few years ago to put some money in the bank for a rainy day, but we didn't imagine it could be this bad," said Heckle, revealing that the cash reserves had been halved by the pandemic.
“It’s an important part of Liverpool’s economy, which is why we’re planning to open the Cavern virtually for a week at the end of August,” said Heckle. “We know we won’t make any money from it; it’s about reminding people that we’re here.”
