Members of Bristol’s event industry have united in support of the #WeMakeEvents campaign while greeting The Survival Tour cycle team at Bristol Beacon.
200 festival organisers, event suppliers, promoters, performers, venues, conference organisers and many more parts of the event industry will come together to highlight the 40,000 people in Bristol who make events.
The Survival Tour features five event professionals, plus one driving a supporting tour bus, cycling between 80 and 125km per day and stopping off at 100 of the most iconic festival, tour and performance venues in the country, all of which have been standing silent since lockdown.
The team will arrive in Bristol on Monday 12th October and will be welcomed by a very Bristol protest. Bristol Beacon and the O2 Academy Bristol will be lit to welcome the riders with Utopium and Evans Audio and Staging providing a light installation for the protest.
As a creative and cultural hub, Bristol is home to thousands of events and festivals. Across culture and corporate events, this city’s event professionals work regionally, nationally and internationally. Events bring upwards of £300 million into the city’s economy, employing over 40,000 people based here throughout a year.
Todd Wills, Artistic Director of Bristol Beacon explains;
“As a city, Bristol is full of creatives, musicians, producers, organisers and venues, responsible for many of the UK’s flagship events. This crisis has affected everyone but disproportionately the industry which makes it such an amazing place to live and work. The #WeMakeEvents fundraising is critical for individuals in crisis and we’re proud to play our part and stand with every part of the industry today.”
Organisations including Upfest, St Paul’s Carnival, Crosstown Concerts, Meet Bristol, Academy Music Group, Ashton Gate Stadium, Compass Group, Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, Plaster Creative Communications, Richmond Event Management, Tokyo World, Theatre Bath, Bristol Hippodrome, SLX, Bristol Festivals, Bristol Sounds, Bristol Craft Beer Festival, Sounds Commercial, Bristol Open Doors and many more will join the protest in solidarity with the hundreds of other businesses and freelancers affected by the crisis.
The current state of the UK event industry has been under scrutiny since the start of lockdown and its initiatives #WeMakeEvents and The Survival Tour seek to bring these struggles into sharp focus.
The Survival Tour will visit The Louisiana, O2 Academy Bristol, Motion, Thekla and the Bristol Hippodrome before ending up at the Bristol Beacon.
The five riders and the driver of the support vehicle, provided by Crossland Bussing, all have established careers in the events industry, having worked with the biggest names in the world including Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Roger Waters, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons and more. Heading up the initiative are Steve Reynolds and Loud Sound colleague Mike Trasmundi along with Mark Ward of Proper Productions and colleagues Harry Ford and Tyler Cole-Holmes.
Steve Reynolds explains;
“Having worked in the entertainment and events business for so many years we all felt we HAD to do something, both to raise awareness to the public, who rarely see us behind the scenes, and inform the Government of the impending collapse of this sector, one that has grown year-on-year and is regarded as the best in the world.
“Most of our friends and colleagues work in this industry, we know their families and they are suffering. In fact, it’s like a big extended family, and we couldn’t stand by and let it just disappear without trying to help. So, to anyone reading or listening, please if you can, make a donation on our donations page, thank you so much.”
The tour aims to raise awareness of the plight of the million-plus workers in the UK events industry, a sector regarded as the best in the world, to raise funds for Backup #WeMakeEvents’ chosen charity that provides help to employees, freelancers and their families suffering in the entertainment sector, and to kick off ‘RESTART’, the next phase of the #WeMakeEvents campaign.
For daily information and updates on The Survival Tour follow @thesurvivaltour on Facebook and Instagram or visit:
- The Survival Tour Event Page https://www.wemakeevents.com/the-survival-tour
- Donation Page: https://we-make-events.raisely.com/thesurvivaltour
- Join The Tour Page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-survival-tour-tickets-122224255037
