NSW’s small to medium venues can get a helping hand in their ambitions to stage live performance, by way of the $2.5 million Live Performance Venue Grant program.
Announced today, August 20th, the grant program for the first time opens to venues across the state.
Successful applicants can secure amounts from $15,000 and $80,000, which can go towards securing staging and sound equipment, paying performers, costs related to marketing and promotion and other outgoings.
The grant is an initiative of the Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner, through the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport (DCITHS).
“Art and performance play a key role in the fabric of our 24-hour economy,” comments 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues.
“There’s a time and place to relax on the couch in surround sound or to put on your headphones on the way to work. But nothing beats being at the gig live and connecting with mates.”
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
The objective of these cash injections is threefold: to increase the number of hospitality venues staging live performance in NSW; to boost the number and diversity of live performances in the NSW night-time economy; and to create employment opportunities for those working in the live performance sector across the state.
Grants will be open to small to medium hospitality venues across NSW including cafes, bars, restaurants, wineries, distilleries, breweries, hotels and pubs, plus registered clubs.
More than 50 venues across Greater Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong received grants under the first round of the Live Performance Venue Grant Program.
“We are pleased to open up our Live Performance Venue Program,” adds Rodrigues, “to support small to medium hospitality venues from across the state that are looking to enhance their night-time offerings with live acts.”
Applications are now open and will close on September 23rd, 2025. For more and to apply visit www.nsw.gov.au.