UK venues go 'Red Alert' to highlight plight of events sector
In the face of the coronavirus pandemic
Iconic venues around the UK turned red last night (11th August) to highlight the dire plight of the live events industry in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and call for sustained government support.
Over 300 venues around the UK, including gig venues, museums, churches, theatres, stadiums and famous landmarks, bathed themselves in red lights as part of the Red Alert campaign.
Among the many, many venues and locations that illuminated red included London’s Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Stadium, Wales Millennium Centre, Glasgow SSE Hydro and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, The National Theatre, The Tate Modern, The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, Cardiff Castle, Cambridge Junction, Curve Leicester, The MAC Belfast, Nottingham Playhouse, Thekla Bristol, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena, The London Eye and Edinburgh Calton Hill.
Earlier on Tuesday, thousands of out-of-work crew from the arts industry took part in a silent and socially distanced #WeMakeEvents march in Manchester, and there were similar protests in other cities.
Last month the government announced a £1.57 billion arts rescue package to be used to support arts organisations, however the Red Alert movement and #WeMakeEvents marches are calling for greater support and highlighting the looming threat of massive job losses within the sector.
Explaining why they took part, the Royal Albert Hall said: “Our events rely on countless suppliers, manufacturers and freelancers and we will all need to work together to make the shows of the future.
“Many livelihoods across the industry are now at stake and that's why we are supporting #WeMakeEvents and #LightItInRed today.”
Wales Millennium Centre said: “Tonight we continue to #LightItInRed in support of all the UK’s live event venues, and the amazing staff and freelancers in our sector who bring the live events we love to life.”
Wembley Stadium commented: “(We’re) proud to support our music industry in its time of crisis. #WeMakeEvents #LightItInRed.”
Manchester music icons New Order voiced their support for the campaign, writing: “Without major immediate support from the Government, the entire live events sector supply chain is at risk of collapse. Red Alert is a campaign to raise public and media awareness in support of the live events sector #WeMakeEvents
“The live events sector employs over 1,000,000 highly skilled people in the UK, all of whom have had no work for the past four months. Join the collective effort to get the industry’s voice heard, calling for sustained immediate financial support #WeMakeEvents”
Check out photos of some of the venues, together with the march in Manchester, below: