MPs urge action to save the British music festival from another “lost summer” | Music Festival

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A multi-party committee of parliamentarians said that immediate action must be taken to save Britain’s music festivals from another “lost summer” due to the new crown virus.

A report from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee of the House of Commons believes that ministers must formulate a government-supported insurance plan for the festival as soon as possible because of their long preparation time. A report stated that even now it is too late for many activities.

Another summer without income will not only lead to the demise of many small festivals, but may also threaten the long-term future of the industry, as companies in the supply chain have also closed down and skilled professionals will be transferred to other jobs.

These problems have become more serious due to the inability to obtain government support. Cultural Renaissance Fund The committee stated that, in fact, no festivals were included in a series of pilot programs designed to test the feasibility of mass activities.

Committee chairperson and Conservative MP Julian Knight stated that the music festival is “deemed by the government as a bad relationship”, even though the industry-which hosts nearly 1,000 events in normal years-contributes 1.76 billion pounds to the British economy and supports 85,000 Job position.

“We have made it clear that most music festivals do not have enough financial flexibility to pay for the cancellation of another year’s delayed notice,” he said.

“If the commercial insurance market does not intervene, the ministers must and urgently: now need to know whether the government will support them, or they will not happen this year. There is still time to play music, but there are no more excuses.”

The committee’s report warned that although the government’s Plan to exit the lock Including the prospect that most of the distance measures will be cancelled in England on June 21, it may not be known until a week before whether this will happen, which is too late for the festival plan.

In the event held in early July, they will pay 40% of the fee before June 14th, and more than a quarter of the festival with a capacity of more than 5,000 in 2021 has been cancelled.

The industry has Call for a few months Similar to the insurance plan provided for the film and television industries, this plan allows production to restart in the early stages of the pandemic.

Nevertheless, the report stated that the government “refused to use multiple opportunities to solve the market failure problem of providing insurance for live events this summer, and to create conditions for the release of the festival and its supply chain’s significant contribution to the economy and culture.”

According to the report, a long-term impact may be the further integration of the industry. Smaller independent festivals have been replaced or acquired by two major companies, Live Nation and AEG Presents. These two companies have already operated nearly one-third of the events. Over 5,000 attendees. It added that this, in turn, may affect pricing and diversity.

Another knock-on effect of most festivals being cancelled again this year may be the “permanent skills gap” described in the report. Many companies that provide services for the festival are closed and employees or freelancers change jobs.

A government spokesperson said: “We will continue to fully support festivals and live events. Our event research plan explores how festivals can be safely restored and run. Festival organizers have received more than 34 million pounds from our unprecedented cultural revival fund, and are here More support was provided in the process.

“As we pass the road map cautiously but irreversibly, we will continue to study what assistance may be needed, including research on compensation issues.”

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