FOC balance sheet: cultural sector suffered particularly from Corona - and received 447.9 million francs

The cultural sector was particularly hard hit by the consequences of the Corona pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Many cultural activities had to be discontinued or could only take place in a very limited form. The latest edition of the Federal Office of Culture's (FOC) "Pocket Statistics on Culture in Switzerland" provides, among other things, an overview of the support provided by the federal government to the cultural sector between March 2020 and the end of 2021.

In March 2020, the Federal Council, in close cooperation with the cantons and in exchange with the cultural sector, issued measures to mitigate the economic consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic for the cultural sector. They complemented the macroeconomic measures and took into account the special circumstances of the cultural sector.

447.9 million Swiss francs in compensation

Cultural enterprises and cultural professionals received compensation for loss of earnings amounting to 447.9 million Swiss francs. These were financed in equal parts by the federal government and the cantons. Professional cultural workers were also able to apply for emergency aid to cover their immediate living costs. The federal government spent 23.2 million francs on this. Non-professional cultural activities were also supported by the Confederation: Non-professional cultural associations received financial aid totaling 28.9 million Swiss francs.

Finally, transformation projects by cultural enterprises were supported with a total of 57.9 million Swiss francs, half by the federal government and half by the cantons. The aim of these projects is to attract new audiences and support structural realignments, for example to cope with the digital transformation. This transformation remains important even after the crisis. That is why the federal government and the cantons will support transformation projects until October 2023. In collaboration with the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK), the FOC will also take stock of audience behavior. The results will be available at the end of the year. Studies have already been carried out on this in 2020 and 2021.

Pandemic accelerated and intensified change in the cultural sector

The pandemic intensified the challenges in the cultural sector. For example, the need for close cooperation between the authorities at the various levels of government and increased dialogue with the cultural sector became clear. Further optimizing this cooperation is a focus of the Cultural Embassy for the years 2025-28, which is currently being drafted.

The pandemic also highlighted the precarious situation of cultural workers, especially freelancers, who often find themselves in atypical work situations. This was particularly evident in the applications for emergency aid for cultural workers. The music scene was particularly affected, followed by the performing and visual arts. Improving the work situation of cultural workers will also be a focus of the upcoming Culture Message.

Finally, the past two years have shown the importance of amateur culture. The fact that brass bands, choirs and amateur theaters could no longer rehearse and perform was drastic and in some cases threatened the existence of these associations. The 7,000 requests for support from amateur associations during the pandemic bear witness to this.

The "Pocket Statistics on Culture in Switzerland" is published in all four national languages. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Website of the Federal Office of Culture downloaded be