EU spent more than £8.5m on arts in past two years

More than £8.5 million of European Union funding has been spent on UK arts and culture projects in the past two years.

English National Opera, Polka Theatre and Pilot Theatre are among more than 70 organisations that have received Creative Europe grants, to support international collaborations they lead.

A new report by the European arts funding body reveals it spent £30.6 million on UK initiatives between 2014 and 2015, with nearly £22 million of that spent on media such as film, television and video game projects. The remaining £8.5 million was spent on arts and culture.

The funding data comes a month before the UK referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU, with the vast majority of creative organisations opposing Britain leaving the union. Many arts organisations have claimed leaving the EU would mean could lose access to European funding.

According to the report, about £7.2 million of Creative Europe funding has been spent on theatre projects involving UK companies – either as lead or partner organisations.

This includes initiatives involving the Royal Opera House, London International Festival of Theatre and Welsh National Opera.

Christoph Jankowski, head of culture at Creative Europe’s UK division, said the funding programme would continue to work closely with already-funded companies.

He added: “We are grateful that [these organisations] support us by sharing their expertise with UK peers and by providing insight into what can be achieved when working together at a European level.”