Give us a chance to get the show back on the road

‘The way our industry has been treated is absolutely appalling’

- Harvey Goldsmith Concert producer and promoter

BRITAIN leads the world in staging events and creating experiences: music, festivals, conferences and trade shows are part of an £84billion industry, of which we can be proud. We give people pleasure, we keep them in jobs and we generate tax revenue.

But we were the first to close in March and we will be the last to reopen. The events industry has had no business for almost a year and no income. I have been in the business for more than 50 years, but nothing compares to this. We are all commercially autonomous, we have never had subsidies and none of us want to start now.

Live music generated £4.5billion in 2019 – since March, revenue has been zero. We employ 210,000 people, but one in two permanent roles will be lost by the end of the year. Income has dropped by 95 per cent for technical suppliers, 87 per cent for ticketing companies, 78 per cent for venues.

Across the industry it’s the same story. Forty-four per cent of events agencies and exhibitions companies do not expect to survive beyond this month and 76 per cent will not survive beyond February if events have not resumed. More than half a million jobs are at risk.