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The team behind #WeMakeEvents’ cycling ‘Survival Tour’ have raised over £30,000 so far for live music and events workers in the UK.
The five main ‘Survival Tour’ cyclists, who are all live events professionals, completed their 15-day ride from Newcastle to London yesterday (October 18) to raise money for those who work in the live events industry, which has been blighted this year by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ‘Survival Tour’, which visited over 50 entertainment venues and festival sites in cities such as Nottingham, Bristol and Birmingham, is aiming to raise awareness of the plight of over 600,000 workers in the live events sector, while also marking what would have been the start of the autumnal touring season.
With donations still coming in, the ‘Survival Tour’ has already topped £30,000 in its fundraising efforts.
All donations will go to #WeMakeEvents’ chosen charity Backup, which provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film.
Speaking to NME over the weekend, Steve Reynolds, operations director for Loud Sound Limited, said that he and his ‘Survival Tour’ team had been “blown away” by the public’s response to their campaign.
“Everyone in this industry wants to work – we want a clear plan of how we can get back to that,” he said. “[We want] a proper track and trace system that can be used to help create secure and safe events, and targeted funding for those who really need it still.
“There also needs to be a confidence that events can run safely. And we need more notice. The exhibition industry that was ready to go on October 1 was stopped with just a week’s notice. That’s what’s really hindering things at the moment.”
Last week, the charity Help Musicians announced that they were extending their financial hardship support fund until March 2021 to aid those musicians who are struggling financially during the pandemic.
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