LIVE

LIVE’S LATEST PROPOSAL TO SAVE SUMMER FESTIVALS

LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) pens an open letter to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and DCMS Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden, to use unspent Culture Recovery Fund money to create a contingency fund.

Despite the current roadmap put forward by the UK government suggesting that summer festivals could take place from 21 June, over the past few months, a number of high-profile festivals have opted to pull the plug on plans to go ahead. One of the latest casualties has been Boomtown – a 70,000-person festival held in Hampshire every August – which recently stated it would not go forward with plans for this summer, citing the “huge gamble” of carrying on without insurance cover. The festival organisers joined a list of dozens of festivals across the UK that have cancelled for the same reason, with hundreds more set to make decisions in the coming weeks.

In a statement on its website, Boomtown said: “With less than four months to go until the event, and after almost half a year of collective campaigning to the government, sadly COVID-specific cancellation insurance for events simply does not exist at this point in time. This means anyone putting on an event this year will be doing so without the safety net of insurance to cover them should COVID-19 prevent them from going ahead in any capacity. For an independent event as large and complex as Boomtown, this means a huge gamble into an eight-figure sum to lose if we were to venture much further forward, and then not be able to go ahead due to COVID-19.”

In light of the Boomtown news, LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) penned a letter to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak and DCMS Secretary of State, Oliver Dowden seeking to unlock the issue by proposing that some of the unspent Culture Recovery Fund money be used to create a contingency fund. This fund would offer partial protection to organisers should events have to cancel because of a public health decision. Insurance for all other issues would be taken in the usual way. LIVE Chief Executive, Greg Parmley commented: “Without some form of contingency fund in place, the risk of undertaking activity this summer will simply be too great for the majority of events. We are already seeing an increasing rate of cancellations, including Glastonbury and now Boomtown, and that will become a flood in the coming weeks if a solution isn’t found.

“The live music industry thinks that using unspent Culture Recovery Money to create a contingency pot to provide some form of protection for events is the best way to get money through the entire live music ecosystem – from artists and venues to technical staff and freelance crew – by enabling people to get back to work. The Prime Minister has said he wants this to be a great British summer. So do we. But that won’t happen if our world-leading live music events disappear for the second year in a row.”

Concurrently, the government is in the midst of commissioning a number of test events including two in Liverpool over the May Bank holiday including a two-day club event and an outdoor music event in which the entire crowd are not having to wear masks or socially distance.

Parmely also gave his thoughts on these latest test events and what they could mean for the live events industry as a whole. “The outdoor music event in Liverpool is a key moment in the Government’s Events Research Programme and a vital step on the road to live music returning this summer. Our entire industry is desperate to get back to work, provide the best possible music experiences for fans, and safeguard thousands of highly skilled jobs. We will continue to work with the Government to ensure a successful and safe reopening from 21 June.” TPi www.livemusic.biz