As the coronavirus pandemic continues to prevent and limit live music events from happening, industry members are sending another red light signal highlighting the need for government support. The #WeMakeEvents campaign is calling on live events workers to light up venues and places in red for a global day of action on Wednesday, September 30. Thousands of sites in more than 25 countries will #LightItInRed with projections, art installations and outreach urging government officials to step up funding and assistance to the decimated sector.
The lighting action begins at 8 p.m. local time and venues can register here. The #WeMakeEvents coalition of workers, businesses and unions also invites supporters to flash red light from their phones.
Among industry figures who are spreading the word for the day of action is Glastonbury Festival co-organizer Emily Eavis. On Monday, she tweeted that live events workers are part of a creative industry that contributes more than £100 billion to the U.K.’s economy every year and pressed the government to recognize their plight.
“We are an industry in crisis,” Eavis stated. “If we don’t speak up, many theatre companies, venues, promoters, artists and crew could struggle to such an extent that this industry is simply never able to return to the incredible force it was before this pandemic struck.”
Past Actions
On Tuesday, before the global action day, workers from multiple sectors of the events industry held a demonstration at Parliament Square in London. The #WeMakeEvents coalition shared that more than 1,300 industry professionals and supporters gathered for the Stand As One Creative Demonstration. Participants held signs conveying that more than 600,000 jobs are at risk of loss and observed a moment of silence.
“This is what the future of music & events sounds like with the current help we are getting, silent,” shared a participant, Luke Deakin, on Facebook.
The global action day follows a “red alert” action on September 1 that was designed to push the U.S. Congress to pass the Restart Act, offering up to 90 percent loan forgiveness to companies that have lost massive revenue. The #RedAlertRESTART day also asked Congress to extend the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) programs.
For more information on how to take part in the global action day, visit #WeMakeEvents’ website here.