Musicians and event staff across Greater Manchester will come together for Global Day of Action

They're demanding more support for the industry or say hundreds of thousands of jobs could be lost.

Author: Ellie LinfordPublished 30th Sep 2020

Musicians, promoters and event staff across Greater Manchester are joining a worldwide call for action to save the industry and prevent hundreds of thousands of job losses.

Landmarks - including Manchester's Victoria Warehouse and Bridgewater Hall - will light up red tonight to highlight the impact of coronavirus on live events.

It's feared 600 thousand jobs could go globally if shows can't be staged anytime soon.

Chief Executive of the Grand Theatre in Blackpool, Ruth Eastwood, says they'll have to make redundancies once the furlough scheme ends and need to start making money as soon as possible.

She said: "The government hasn't underwritten theatre production with an insurance policy that if they're interrupted they won't lose their money - and they have done that for the film industry.

"We've actually applied to become a wedding venue, for instance.

"The Lowry in Salford has started to be a law court.

"We've got a big building surely we can use it for something even if we can't put on plays".

Tour manager for Stockport band Blossoms, Dan Woolfie fears the problem is only going to get worse for freelancers like himself.

He told us: "We've been struggling through this first six months and now it's only going to get worse for the next six months.

"We're no way near being able to open. There's more and more local lockdowns now, so it's looking like it could be another six months for us yet.

"No-one is prepared for 12 months off."

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