English National Opera: London Assembly opposes relocation

A banner saying #LoveENO was hung outside the London Coliseum last year following the announcement

The London Assembly has formally objected to Arts Council England's decision to force the English National Opera (ENO) to move from the capital.

The ENO was told last year by Arts Council England to relocate from the capital or lose its public funding.

The motion demanded Arts Council England (ACE) "end its requirement for the ENO to establish a primary base out of London".

ACE said the decision was a result of conditional government funding.

The motion passed by assembly members also urged the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to intervene with ACE as well as with the secretary of state for culture over the move, and called for no job losses as a result of funding cuts.

Members of the entertainment trade unions Equity and the Musicians' Union gathered to hear the motion passed.

ENO workers 'deserve better'

Proposing the motion, London-wide assembly member Elly Baker said: "The impact on the lives and livelihoods of the workers at the ENO is clear. Families and careers have been hanging in the balance for months. It needs to stop.

"The chorus and stage management workers at the ENO deserve better from the Arts Council than this rushed decision."

The ENO recently staged The Dead City at its current home, the London Coliseum

The vote comes as Equity said a survey of its members working at the ENO showed more than two-thirds would quit the company - and the profession - if it left London, with many saying they have caring responsibilities, partners working, or children going to school in the capital.

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Following the decision by ACE in November, the ENO drew up a shortlist of locations including Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham.

ACE originally planned to effectively halve the ENO's grant to £17m over the next three years, even if the company did agree to move.

However, the funding body has now agreed to increase it and provide £35.5m for the next three years.

A spokesperson for Arts Council England said: "As a condition of receiving a 2% increase to our budget at the 2021 spending review, we were instructed by government in February 2022 to move £24m a year out of the London portfolio of funded organisations by 2025, and spread funding in the capital to more boroughs.

"Change in how we invested in London was inevitable, and with the budget available to us we had to make difficult decisions."

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