£250,000 award from Foundation for Sport & The Arts
Lord Attenborough presents cheque to Lyric Development Director Angela McCloskey and Chairman Mark Carruthers.
One of the biggest grants ever made by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts to a project in Northern Ireland has been awarded to the Lyric Theatre. The grant of £250,000 was announced at a Lunch Reception in London, hosted by Sir Tim Rice, Chairman of the Foundation. The award was presented to the Lyric’s fundraising team by Honorary President of the Foundation, Lord Attenborough CBE. The money will be used to provide dedicated education facilities within the new theatre which the Lyric is planning to build on its Ridgeway Street site.
“The Foundation is absolutely delighted to be playing its part in helping the Lyric build a fantastic new theatre for Northern Ireland,” said the Foundation’s Secretary Richard Boardley. “We were very impressed by the Lyric’s vision and, in particular, the commitment to creating facilities that will dramatically increase opportunities for young people to actively participate in the arts.”
“This really is a wonderful coup for the Lyric,” said its Chairman Mark Carruthers. “It is only in exceptional circumstances that the Foundation gives an award of this size. We are honoured to have been chosen as a flagship project in Northern Ireland.”
The grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts provides a welcome boost for the Lyric’s capital fundraising campaign. The Lyric has raised over 90% of the £17 million needed to build a landmark new theatre, but construction cannot begin until all the funds are in place. The final curtain will fall at the current venue on 13th January 2008 after forty years of service to the community.
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