Live music to play again on July 19th

12 July 2021 - Press release

Greg Parmley, CEO of LIVE said:
"Today is a fantastic day for live music - our members cannot wait to get back out there and put on the events safely that our fans have been missing this past year.

"While we have been waiting for this moment for the past year, commercial insurance is still not available – meaning organisers are faced with the prospect of huge financial losses should any restrictions need to change. If Government really wants us to get back our feet, they need to make live events financially viable, provide the insurance scheme they have promised, and give the industry the confidence to invest for the long term."

LIVE is delighted that, after over a year of closure, live music can begin once again in England - at full capacity - on 19 July.

After having lost over 85% of its revenue in 2020, this is a landmark moment for the industry. Events will be able to begin again in earnest, finally bringing much sought-after joy, entertainment and excitement to fans up and down the country.  

Today's announcement is a crucial step forward and we have worked day and night over the past year to ensure that live events can return safety. However, barriers still remain which will severely impede the recovery of this £4.6 billion industry. These must be urgently resolved if we are to fully reopen:

• Insurance - The commercial insurance market has failed with regards to Covid cancellation cover, and it is clear that restrictions could be brought back quickly if the public health data was to worsen. This presents the live entertainment industry with a great deal of uncertainty and after over a year of lost income it would be impossible for the industry to absorb that scale of loss. Meaning that whilst legally the industry could start to organise future events the reality could be very different. To prevent irreversible damage the Government must announce an insurance scheme immediately to provide the security and stability needed for serious investment to be made. The Government has said on numerous occasions that it would move to address the market failure in Covid cancellation insurance once the country moved to Step 4. That point is now about to arrive and the problem remains unsolved.
  
  
• Self-isolation – We are already seeing productions collapsing due to by the need to isolate whole casts or crew when one person in a bubble contracts Covid. To ensure the industry can reopen sustainably there is also a need for a cultural exemption to the isolation requirements through frequent testing. The Government has announced its plan to exempt those that are fully vaccinated from mandatory isolation from 16 August. That is far too late for productions that are trying to get up now and may well be playing to full houses by July 19. Companies will work to provide a covid secure environment for performers and crew however the inevitable increase in rates would lead to many having to self-isolate despite having been vaccinated and testing negative. Without this exception shows will have to be cancelled unnecessarily at the last-minute, costing millions of pounds and potentially thousands of jobs. 
  
  
• Quarantine exemption – international stars from music and the arts are keen to play at our world-leading festivals, theatres and clubs. Currently that is only possible following a period of quarantine which many are unable to do due to other commitments. The arts need the same exemption that professional elite sport has obtained, which enables teams to come from around Europe to the UK play in the European Championship without quarantining.