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This article examines the response of the English heritage sector, in particular Historic England, to the impact caused by the initial lockdown and restrictions introduced to protect lives during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. This response, headed by the Heritage Sector Response Group, relied on effective cross-sector working in order to both make the case for targeted support for the heritage sector to the UK Government and to provide advice and support for organisations during the lockdown and the limited reopening of the economy which followed. This included gathering intelligence in order to understand the impact of restrictions on the sector, which was used to swiftly develop emergency grant schemes funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England. The paper also considers the Historic England Heritage Online Debate around the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the sector, which gathered case studies from across the sector to capture and share qualitative information. The paper then looks at other long term challenges facing the sector, such as climate change, and considers how a collaborative approach and lessons learned from the sector's response to the COVID-19 restrictions may provide models for building resilience for the future and developing solutions to other issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of COVID-19 have been telling in the sports world, seeing competitions suspended indefinitely. Initial optimism in England – that the Premier League would resume in May – dampened in favour of caution. In the absence of play and catastrophic economic losses, wealthy managers and executives have been encouraged, from a financial perspective, to accept wage freezes and reductions. Players have also been encouraged to do so as part of an effort in solidarity. This paper considers the ethical dimension of such gestures and how these have been received. How is the footballer, rendered physically incapable in such circumstances to prove sporting worth, to be critiqued? A new pandemic morality, it is argued, has emerged, one that takes an austere view of footballers and their conduct. Appraised as such, these figures are seen less as heroic beings than citizens engaged in a common cause and reviled for not doing so, a return, it is contended, to the principle of amateurishness. Specific reference is made to the English Premier League to illustrate the point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]