Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios has announced a $6m commitment to support the European TV and film production creative community through the COVID-19 pandemic, with Caroline Dinenage, UK Minister for Digital and Culture (pictured) praising the action.

Donations from the fund will be made to COVID-19 relief funds in countries across Europe as TV and film production begins to restart across the continent.

The first confirmed awards from the fund include a £1m donation in the UK to the Film and TV Charity’s COVID-19 Response to kick-start a new grants scheme to help the industry recover; and a £500,000 donation to the Theatre Community Fund, launched by Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Francesca Moody to provide hardship grants to theatre workers and freelancers across the UK.

The donation from Amazon Prime Video will kick-start a second wave of support and the charity is now calling on the industry and individual donors to come forward and add to the founding donation with a goal of raising £3.2m, which would enable the charity to continue to provide essential services and launch this major grants scheme next month.

The Theatre Community Fund is a new initiative, dispersed and monitored by the Royal Theatrical Fund in partnership with the Fleabag Support Fund. Amazon Studios’ donation £500,000 will enable the fund to continue to offer grants to help freelancers survive the present by providing hardship grants to those in immediate need, and ensure a healthy future for the industry by providing innovation and creation grants for artists to produce work.

Caroline Dinenage, UK Minister for Digital and Culture, said: "We recognise that the last few months have been difficult for many people in the performing arts and screen industries given the impact of Covid-19. This donation from Amazon adds to the unprecedented support from the UK Government to help secure these brilliant industries' future and help them thrive once more."

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