#WeMakeEvents enters Red Alert with industry backing
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The initiative will raise the alarm for the live events and entertainment sector, which has been badly-hit by the pandemic, resulting in countless event cancellations.
The campaign reports that the disruption of the summer season alone has affected over 600,000+ jobs in outdoor events. Meanwhile, a campaign survey revealed that redundancies in the sector are already happening, with 15% of businesses stating that they plan to make redundancies during August and 70% reporting that they could be forced to do so by the end of 2020.
The campaign warns that the termination of the government’s furlough scheme and the self-employment income support scheme in October would leave up to one million industry professionals with no financial security. “The complete lack of work in the sector combined with the withdrawal of government support will force industry professionals, including the 72% of freelancers, to seek work in other sectors,” says a statement.
Live events may not be able to return until March 2021 due to social distancing rules and the long-term planning now has the collaborative support of 17 trade bodies and several more production companies and manufacturers required for many arena tours, festivals, and stadium events.
The industry bodies now involved in #WeMakeEvents include: the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), the ALD - The People in Performance Lighting, the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), Association of Sound Designers (ASD), Community Leisure UK, Creu Cymru, the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST), Freelancers Make Theatres Work, the Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers (ISCE), MUTA, the MIA, the Music Venues Trust (MVT), the National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA), Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), PLASA, Production Managers Forum (PMF), Production Services Association (PSA), Society of London Theatre (SOLT) & UK Theatre, Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA) and Theatre & Dance Northern Ireland.
James Gordon, CEO of Audiotonix, comments: “The #WeMakeEvents campaign has moved into the Red Alert phase, and it’s imperative that everyone from the events industry raises their voice and gets involved. This is a campaign for the companies, the employees and the many freelancers working in all aspects of the events industry supply chain. We all need government support to survive the current restricted situation, to allow us to re-emerge as the industry we were, intact and ready to entertain, when restrictions allow. Please help us all and get behind #WeMakeEvents to make our voices heard by the government.” For the latest news and updates on the campaign action, please visit www.plasa.org/we-make-events.
To see how you can take part in the London event on 11 August, please check this page.
