Celebrated classical music venue the Wigmore Hall has succeeded in its aim to raise £10m and will no longer require Arts Council funding, its director John Gilhooly said.
In April 2026, the London venue, which will be celebrating its 125th anniversary, will voluntarily take itself out of the Arts Council England (ACE) portfolio. It currently receives £344,206 a year.
Last year, Gilhooly launched a fund which aimed to make the Wigmore Hall financially self-sustaining in “an uncertain public environment for classical music in the UK”.
The venue hoped to raise £10m by 2027, but has reached its target early. It said in a statement: “Providing long-term financial security, the fund allows Wigmore Hall to remain ambitious and artistically bold while retaining its independence.”
Wigmore Hall also received a £500,000 grant from the AKO Foundation, which the venue said would enable its scheme to provide £5 tickets for concertgoers under 35 to continue for a further five years.
It also announced its season for the following year, including performances by musicians such as Rhiannon Giddens, baritone Matthias Goerne and Simon Russell Beale interpreting the life of Debussy with pianist Lucy Parham.
