Venues across Suffolk lit up red last night to draw attention to the beleaguered events and hospitality industry.
The ‘Light it in Red’ social media campaign was organised to raise awareness for the events industry. A statement on the organisers website says: “All kinds of major events are currently prohibited due to the Covid-19 crisis.
“Corporate events, conferences, concerts, festivals, weddings, trade shows and theatrical performances are no longer able to go ahead.
“This is leaving an entire industry dormant, with over 25,000 businesses and over 500,000 workers throughout the UK directly suffering the ill effects.
“Our goal is to have a conversation with politicians and the government about how the billion-pound events industry can be saved from a massive wave of insolvency and how the preservation of over half a million jobs can be ensured.”
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Among those in Suffolk that took part were the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, Hengrave Hall in Bury St Edmunds, and Copdock Hall near Ipswich.
Ian Evans, owner of wedding venue Copdock Hall, said: “A lot of wedding venues, a lot of theatres and live music venues are really struggling and there is no end in sight – because they haven’t told any of us when we can open or how to do it.
“It’s unlikely we’re going to be open until at least September time.”
Dave Drane, co-director of Dreamwave events, a sound and lighting company based near Colchester which lit up Hengrave Hall, said the aim of the campaign was to “amplify the voice of the entertainment industry during this critical time”.
Sue Lawther-Brown, head of communications at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, said: “We took part because we’re acutely aware of what a difficult time our freelancers are having. They’re such a crucial part of our industry. In the last two years we’ve worked with over 200 freelancers and we just felt it was something we could do that was very visible to show our solidarity for all the people working in the industry, not just the venues themselves.”Did a venue near you light up red? Send your pictures here.
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