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Comedians And Actors Get Behind #WeMakeEvents

Paul Whitehouse, Griff Rhys-Jones, Angus Deayton, Christopher Eccleston and Deborah Francis-White are just some of the comedians and actors supporting the #WeMakeEvents campaign.

In a new video, each person shares a tribute to the magic of live shows and the hardworking crew who work behind the scenes.

“They don’t belong in the dark, we have to speak up for them now,” said Rhys-Jones. “Thousands are sitting at home wondering what’s next for them. So we have to be their voice. They’ve worked for us; it’s time for us to work for them.”

“It’s time for us to all acknowledge them, and realise without them, there is no this, and this is everything,” adds Francis-White, gesturing around an empty theatre.

If you want to make a one-off donation to industry professionals in need, text the word ONETWO followed by the amount you want to donate to 70085 (for example to donate £5 text ONETWO5 to 70085).

All funds will go to Backup, The Technical Entertainment Charity, to help its continued support of industry professionals and their families.

#WeMakeEvents was originally launched by PLASA in April 2020 as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on their membership and wider supply chain to events.

The campaign grew to include over 21 industry bodies along with many companies and professionals in the UK. This led to the original ‘Red Alert – throw us a line’ day of action on August 11 2020 across the UK.

The success of this initial activity has led to a global movement, coming together in a spirit of mutual support and solidarity.

“It has been a year since the first lockdown,” stated #WeMakeEvents. “A year since live events have not been allowed to take place. A year that people working in the live event supply chain have had no way to earn their living – and faced an uncertain future.

“But the Government can’t see us, and all too often, we have been excluded from their support schemes – leaving us without the help we’ve needed to survive since our industry closed down, and without a pathway to reopening.”

A survey conducted this year found that 93% of individuals and businesses in the live event supply chain have seen their income fall dramatically as a result of the pandemic – 65% have seen a fall of over 50%, and 30% a fall of over 90%.

As a result, 50% of individuals have had to take work outside of live events to supplement their income. A third have been forced to leave – or are considering leaving – the sector. On top of that, 43% of live event supply chain businesses say they don’t have the resources to last until the summer.