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An open letter from the live events and entertainment industry was published today, calling on the Government for support during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
It has 600 signatures, including U2, Christy Moore, Mike Denver, Sinead O’Connor, Hozier, Daniel O’Donnell and Des Bishop, among many others at all levels of the industry.
The letter is part of National Awareness Week for the Live Events and Entertainment Industry in Ireland.
It calls for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme to be reinstated at €350.
It was published by the Event Production Industry COVID-19 working group (EPIC) and follows on from a Budget 2021 submission made by EPIC on Wednesday, 16 September.
The letter highlights that the events industry in Ireland supports 35,000 part-time and full-time jobs, as well as contributing €3.5bn to the economy. It is estimated that for every €1 spent on an event ticket, €6 is spent in the wider economy.
Supports need to be appropriate and unprecedented in order to address the dire financial situation facing almost every single person and business
The letter states: “Up until now, we have been totally ignored and received virtually no government aid. As an impossibly bleak winter approaches, we and our dependents desperately require serious government support to survive.
“The workers at all levels of this vital sector have no prospects of earning a living in the foreseeable future, so the supports need to be appropriate and unprecedented in order to address the dire financial situation facing almost every single person and business.”
The live events and entertainment industry has been closed for 190 days, since the onset of the pandemic.
This week, venues across Ireland lit up red in support of National Awareness Week for the Live Events and Entertainment Industry. Among others, Croke Park, the 3Arena, the RDS, the Aviva Stadium, the INEC, Dolan’s and the Róisín Dubh are taking part.
Read the full letter here.
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