The Southbank Centre has revealed it is at risk of closure until at least April 2021 as the charity's reserves run dry during the coronavirus pandemic.
The centre has forecast that in a best case scenario it could suffer a £5 million loss at the end of the 2020/21 financial year as it warned the organisation will cease "to be a going concern" by 2021 if urgent support is not secured.
It added that it expects it will soon have used all of its reserves and the remainder of its annual grant from Arts Council England to "effectively mothball the buildings".
Despite being the UK’s largest arts and cultural organisation, the charity said lockdown restrictions and social distancing will mean artistic activity will unlikely return to normal levels throughout 2020/21.
It revealed that even with Government furlough support and the ACE grant, the centre expects losses will rise to around £11 million.
Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of the Southbank Centre, said: "It is with an incredibly heavy heart that we today share further details about the future of the Southbank Centre.
"We know we are not alone in this and stand with our friends, partners, and colleagues - both here in the UK and abroad - during this time of unprecedented challenge."
The charity is calling on the Government to extend the furlough scheme beyond October for the cultural sector, develop an intervention to support the arts sector throughout the Covid-19 outbreak and for the Government to support self-employed artists and musicians who do not qualify under the current financial support schemes.
Southbank's annual ACE grant represents just 37 per cent of its income, with the remainder of its funds coming from ticket sales, bars and restaurants on its site.
The closure of bars and restaurants to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has led to a "catastrophic loss" of 60 per cent of the charity's income, said the Southbank Centre.
Ms Bedell added: "With eight orchestras, the National Poetry Library, and Arts Council Collection all calling us home, and playing host to over 4.45 million visitors each year, we’re doing all we can to safeguard the Southbank Centre we currently know and love for the years ahead.
"However, this crisis has hit hard, and we join a number of other organisations and venues in sounding the alarm about the long-term health of UK arts and culture."
The charity is making plans to cancel events from September to November 2020 and is considering the option of broadcasting concerts from behind closed doors through Autumn 2020 to Spring 2021.
Southbank said it presents more than 3,500 events a year - of which over 40 per cent are free - and welcomes enough visitors to fill Wembley Stadium 50 times over.
"The Southbank Centre’s own history is traced directly to the 1951 Festival of Britain," said Ms Bedell.
"Here, the post-war government recognised how vital arts and culture were to the health and well-being of a traumatised nation.
"Just as the South Bank was a focal point of social and economic recovery then, we hope that we’ll emerge from this crisis to an even brighter future, throwing our doors wide open once more.”
