Sydney extends support for night-time economy

Sydney, July 17 Australia's Sydney city on Friday provided further support for restaurants, bars and venues to get back on track, as businesses have slowly reopened after the COVID-19 lockdown.

In its latest round of business support grants announced on Friday, the City of Sydney has awarded A$222,334 ($155,100) to night-time and live music businesses, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for Sydney's night-time economy, which was only just beginning to breathe again after the lockout laws were lifted in January," Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.

"Sydney's core night-time economy is not only critical to our city's future generating more than A$4.2 billion in revenue each year and employing more than 35,500 people across nearly 5,000 businesses it is key to our vision for Sydney as a thriving global city," she said.

Moore said businesses operating at night were hardest hit by the COVID-19 restriction measures, so it is critical to support these businesses to get back to normal as restrictions ease.

"We recently approved COVID-19 relief grants for 654 projects, worth a total of A$8.85 million, which included 144 businesses operating at night," she said.

The latest round of grants will help to create a wide range of new events across the city, including literary dinners, live music, dance workshops and cooking classes.

A further 12 not-for-profit or members-based organizations have been awarded A$350,000 to promote local economies and improve access to industry information, upskilling and networking.

( With inputs from IANS )