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LIVE: Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 'The future of UK music festivals' 
MPs are hearing from @BoomtownFair and @Parklifefest, followed by the leaders of @UK_Music, @AIF_UK and @AFO_Festivals
Watch online here:
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/672c567b-68ee-444e-b3d8-3dbd65f907b7
MPs are hearing from @BoomtownFair and @Parklifefest, followed by the leaders of @UK_Music, @AIF_UK and @AFO_Festivals
Watch online here:
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/672c567b-68ee-444e-b3d8-3dbd65f907b7
Anna Wade from Boomtown and @Sacha_Lord from Parklife have told MPs, including Boomtown's local representative @BrineMP, of the wider impacts of festivals being forced to cancel - including on skilled workers, the local economy and supported charities
MPs have been told of the intricate, long-term planning festivals such as Boomtown and Parklife involve and the clarity required to ensure they can go ahead. Securing insurance and improvements in national & rapid testing should help significantly.
Damian Green MP suggests rapid testing could present issues, "if done on the festival gate and 5% were positive you'd have 2500 angry people at the gates"
Sacha says police and security are well-rehearsed in dealing with all kinds of scenarios on the gates
Sacha says police and security are well-rehearsed in dealing with all kinds of scenarios on the gates
Anna says Boomtown will be operating at a reduced capacity for 2021 but Sacha says Parklife will be at 100%, adding "social distancing is impossible at a festival."
Sacha says @WHP_Mcr receiving a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund was a "lifeline" and calls for more support to be directed towards the industry's freelancers.
@BrineMP invites Anna to tell the committee about Boomtown's approach to drugs harm reduction and @WeAreTheLoopUK's presence at the festival.
@MrJohnNicolson: "This seems horribly mature, in this country we tend to have a very immature discussion about drugs" making reference to the tabloid press and the virtues of the Netherlands drug testing within clubs
The Chair thanks Anna and Sacha as the first panel draws to a close. There's now a ~5 min break before we hear from @AIF_UK, @UK_Music and @AFO_Festivals
The second panel is now underway with Steve Heap from @AFO_Festivals, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin of @UK_Music and Paul Reed from @AIF_UK.
They're being asked how and why government support schemes would be essential to events going ahead this summer.
They're being asked how and why government support schemes would be essential to events going ahead this summer.
Paul is talking about how important securing insurance will be and how crucial this is for events to push ahead with planning.
Jamie echos Anna's point from the first session, insurance is not the last piece of the puzzle in planning but quite the opposite.
Steve from @AFO_Festivals: 30% of our member festivals need to know if they can go ahead by March, 15% in January, 27% in April - if we get as far as Easter and we still don't know crowds can gather "we're in a catastrophic situation with this summer's festival season"
Steve: A 3000 capacity festival could reduce to 1500 and have some semblance of social distancing but you'd lose what we know a festival to be, the atmosphere, the camaraderie, the community spirit
Steve: One or two festivals are selling okay but our ticket sales are generally at zero. Customers aren't willing spend on tickets when they've got no confidence the event will go ahead.
The panel agrees people are "chomping at the bit" to get back to festivals but acknowledges customer confidence could be an issue. Jamie says the government giving a clear date when events will be able to go ahead would help with this.
Jamie: We're not taking about asking people to come back to events while the pandemic is still raging, this is about making sure we're ready to come back post-pandemic
Jamie says a Government-backed insurance scheme should cover costs such as paying freelancers when events are forced to cancel. Germany has a scheme in place for any such costs in 2021 and Austria has something similar.
On Brexit and the impact on artists moving into and out of the UK, @KevinBrennanMP says "we made a lot of fuss about fish, most of which we don't eat, but not about this"
Jamie hopes improvements to the trade deal will include provisions to resolve this.
Jamie hopes improvements to the trade deal will include provisions to resolve this.
@BrineMP: "I've been to many festivals over the years and I'm proud of the fact I've never had a shower, might that have to change?"
Paul Reed: "Yes, that might be part of holding covid-secure events"
Paul Reed: "Yes, that might be part of holding covid-secure events"
Steve is explaining how most festivals have their ticket sales money held by an agency until the event takes place, so it's very unlikely customers would be unable to get a refund if cancelled.
@DamianGreen MP bought tickets for an unnamed festival last June, has rolled them over to 2021 and would do so again for 2022. As it's not an independent festival, he asks if the wider group going bankrupt could mean ticketholders lose out?
Steve says no.
Steve says no.
Steve: On widening eligibility for the Cultural Recovery Fund, threshold should be lowered as saving grassroots festivals is absolutely crucial.
Paul agrees, says lack of working capital is the major threat to many independent festivals survival.
Paul agrees, says lack of working capital is the major threat to many independent festivals survival.
Jamie: 65% of music creators income has been lost this year, that rises to 80% for those most dependent on live performances. They're going to need more support.
Steve: The festival scene contributes enormous amounts to local economies, some campsites, B&Bs, etc have been hit hard by a festival not happening, £10 spent at a festival site generates £17 in the local community
Steve: We need to establish what percentage of the UK population needs to be vaccinated before the government will allow a crowd
The second panel has now finished, the chair is thanking Steve, Jamie and Paul and the hearing is now over. It'll be available online to watch again or catch-up with soon.