MELKSHAM’S Town Hall was lit up red last week in support of the Assembly Hall as part of the national #WeMakeEvents campaign.
The national campaign has moved to a ‘Red Alert’, and is highlighting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the live events industry and its entire supply chain, which includes manufacturers, audio, lighting and video specialists, logistics, transportation, rigging and many more.
The campaign is calling on the government to provide the ‘right support’ to an industry that is ‘set to collapse’.
Since the event, the government has announced that indoor venues can now open, but with social distancing in force. Many entertainment venues had already said that only being able to allow restricted numbers would make performances not viable as tickets sales would not cover the costs.
The Town Hall’s participation was made possible by local company Light Fantastic, who supply lighting to the events industry – and for the switch-on, they were joined by staff from the Assembly Hall, which currently remains closed.
The campaign says, “#WeMakeEvents is now at Red Alert to raise awareness of the UK’s 1,000,000 highly skilled industry professionals, all of whom have had no work for the past four months with little likelihood of restarting until spring 2021.
“Our industry includes a huge supply chain ranging from production, audio, lighting and video, to logistics, planning, transportation, and some of the world’s leading technology manufacturers.
“Without additional support for the supply chain, the UK is in danger of losing its global position as a world leader in world class events. Moreover, all of our incredible creatives and technicians could lose their livelihoods for good.
“We are calling for meaningful support from the government until the industry is allowed to operate in a way that is not limited by social distancing policies including: Grants – not loans – made available to businesses in the events supply chain; Furlough scheme extended until the industry is back to work; Extension of the self-employment scheme, tailored towards the industry.”
For more information about the campaign, visit the website: www.lightitinred.co.uk
