Fast motion have to be taken to save lots of the UK’s music festivals from one other “misplaced summer season” resulting from Covid, a cross-party committee of MPs has stated.
Ministers should create a government-backed insurance coverage scheme for festivals as quickly as attainable, given their lengthy lead instances, a report from the Commons digital, tradition, media and sport committee argued, saying even now it could be too late for a lot of occasions.
One other summer season with out earnings wouldn’t solely trigger the demise of many smaller festivals, however may threaten the long-term way forward for the sector as firms within the provide chain additionally shut down and expert specialist workers transfer to different jobs.
The issues had been exacerbated by an absence of entry to the federal government’s tradition restoration fund and by the very fact no festivals have been included within the sequence of pilot schemes designed to check the viability of mass occasions, the committee stated.
Music festivals had been “handled because the poor relation by the federal government”, stated the committee chair, the Conservative MP Julian Knight, regardless of the sector – which in a standard yr levels almost 1,000 occasions – contributing £1.76bn to the UK financial system and supporting 85,000 jobs.
“It has been made very clear to us that the overwhelming majority of music festivals wouldn’t have the monetary resilience to cowl the prices of one other yr of late-notice cancellations,” he stated.
“If the industrial insurance coverage market received’t step in, ministers should, and urgently: occasions have to know now whether or not the federal government will again them, or they merely received’t happen this yr. There’s nonetheless time to get the music enjoying, however no extra room for excuses.”
The committee’s report warns that whereas the federal government’s plan to exit lockdown contains the prospect of most distancing measures being eliminated in England on 21 June, it won’t be recognized if this may occur till every week earlier than, which is way too late for festivals to plan.
Of occasions happening in early July, they may have paid out 40% of their prices by 14 June, and greater than 1 / 4 of festivals with a capability of greater than 5,000 have already been cancelled for 2021.
The trade has been calling for months for an insurance coverage scheme much like that provided to the movie and TV industries, which allowed manufacturing to restart earlier within the pandemic.
Regardless of this, the report says, the federal government has “refused to take a number of alternatives to deal with the market failure within the provision of insurance coverage for dwell occasions this summer season and set the situations to unlock the numerous financial and cultural contribution made by festivals and their provide chains”.
One long-term influence could possibly be additional consolidation within the sector, the report stated, with smaller, impartial festivals being changed or purchased up by two large corporations, Stay Nation and AEG Presents, which already function almost a 3rd of occasions with 5,000-plus attendances. This might in flip have an effect on pricing and variety, it added.
One other knock-on impact of most festivals once more being cancelled this yr could possibly be what the report known as a “everlasting abilities hole”, with most of the firms that offer providers to festivals closing and workers or freelancers altering jobs.
A authorities spokesperson stated: “We’re persevering with to work flat out to help festivals and dwell occasions. Our Occasions Analysis Programme has explored how festivals can get again up and working safely and pageant organisers have acquired greater than £34m from our unprecedented Tradition Restoration Fund, with extra help on the way in which.
“We are going to proceed to have a look at what help could also be required as we transfer cautiously however irreversibly by means of the roadmap, together with wanting on the difficulty of indemnity cowl.”
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