Scottish Ballet ends sponsorship deal with BP

The announcement comes as the National Portrait Gallery said its partnership with BP will end this year.

Activist theatre group BP or not BP? protesting in Glasgow in November during Cop26 (BP or not BP/PA)

Scottish Ballet has confirmed it no longer has a deal with BP due to a clash over future “green” company plans.

It joins the National Portrait Gallery, which announced the end of its partnership with the oil giant in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The two, major, art institutions are the latest in the art and culture sector to distance themselves from the global oil and gas company.

A spokesperson from Scottish Ballet said the dance company decided against renewing its sponsorship agreement with BP on January 31 as the oil and gas firm no longer “aligns with the company’s green action plan – to be carbon neutral by 2030”.

They said Scottish Ballet’s relationship with BP reached “a natural conclusion”, adding: “We sincerely acknowledge the long-term support of BP, particularly in helping the company tour to Aberdeen.”

The dance company was pressured by climate activists into cutting ties with BP during Cop26 in Glasgow in November last year.

Campaigners have been pushing the arts and culture sector to sever links to the oil and gas industry amid criticism that companies are sponsoring them to “greenwash” their reputations while failing to promise a shift to cleaner energy.

Other leading art institutions including the Royal Shakespeare Company and Tate have already ended sponsorship deals with BP following environmental campaigns launched by artists and employees.