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British Council to Shut Offices in Nine Countries

The Council is integral to the UK’s international cultural influence, through cultural exchange, education and language programmes

The Art Journal15 July, 2026

British Council in Madrid, 2015. Photo: Luis García

The British Council will close its offices in nine countries, The Independent has reported.

The Council is integral to the UK’s international cultural influence, through cultural exchange, education and language programmes, as well as delivering UK-funded development projects. It has undergone years of financial strain.

Seven of the countries that the Council will no longer have a permanent presence in have been confirmed as Botswana, Chile, Croatia, Mozambique, Peru, Tanzania and Trinidad and Tobago. 

The British Council cited operating costs, opportunities for growth, government priorities and expiring partnerships as motivators in their decision.

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Hauser & Wirth gallery in London, pictured here in 2013. The specific exhibition or artists shown are not implicit in the sanctions allegations. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

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