We are absolutely delighted to be able to share some good news with you at long last: we applied for £175,000 through the Scottish Government Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund and heard last week that we were successful!!
Our Trustees and staff have done all we can during our enforced closure to ensure the long-term viability of The Queen's Hall, and this latest show of confidence is a huge boost to our future. We can now progress with more stability and work with our partners so that, when it's safe to reopen, we're here for those who rely on the live music industry for their livelihood, and for those who have missed being in our audiences (which hopefully includes you).
With this in mind, thank you if you completed our recent short survey. It was reassuring to see how many of our lovely customers were willing to do so and we received almost 4,000 responses, which gave us helpful data to inform our plans.
The measures that were deemed most important were:
- limited audiences and socially distanced seating,
- customers wearing face masks,
- staff wearing face masks.
We now have hand sanitiser units for all entrances, which came up as the fourth most important measure, and are monitoring seating plans and audience flow around the building.
Whilst we're still closed to the public, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are returning for rehearsals and will be broadcasting chamber concerts from The Queen's Hall on their social media platforms each Thursday evening during October, starting on the 8th at 7.30pm. Each concert will be available to view for 30 days. Visit the SCO's website to find out more.
We know that the pandemic is having an on-going impact on so many people and our good news doesn't lessen our sympathy for everyone affected; our thoughts are still with you all. We hope, though, that you will join us in celebrating with a little dance to your favourite track or favourite QH performer... we're just off to dance sock-footed around the kitchen to Sparks.
With many thanks for your continued support and all best wishes for your health. As always, we hope to be able to welcome you back soon.
Everyone at The Queen's Hall
Scottish Charity No: SC012294