Light It In Red Campaign
Stage Engage of Exeter helped to light Sandy Park in red as part of the Light It In Red campaign aimed at raising awareness of the Events Industry during the Covid-19 crisis
By Mark Stevens
11/8/20
Exeter’s Sandy Park tonight joined hundreds of events venues throughout the UK to light their buildings red in order to raise awareness of the sector’s plight due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Inspired by Germany’s #NightofLight2020, the ‘Light It In Red’ campaign is a joint-project devised by Clearsound Productions Limited and the Backstage Theatre Jobs forum.
Since March, Sandy Park - Exeter’s Premier Conference and Banqueting Centre - has been shut for business as the world looks to get to grips with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the introduction of lockdown and social distancing measures in March, the events industry has been largely mothballed, providing all involved with an anxious wait as to when they can resume business.
According to ‘Light It Red’, over 25,000 businesses and half a million workers throughout the UK have been directly affected as a result. Many are concerned that, after being the fastest growing sector in 2017 according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the industry - which is currently worth over £100bn per annum to the UK economy - is now being neglected by the UK government.
The project seeks to spark dialogue with politicians about a raft of measures that could be introduced to protect businesses and over half a million jobs across the country. Ideas include making grants available to companies in the events supply chain, extending the furlough scheme until the industry is back to work and lengthening the duration of the self-employment scheme via a tailored approach to the sector.
By simultaneously illuminating buildings and structures across the UK, the group is looking to utilise social media platforms with pictures and the #LightItInRed hashtag to maximise exposure and support.
Working alongside Exeter-based Stage Engage, who specialise in providing professional audio, video, lighting and staging solutions for all kinds of events, Sandy Park and the nearby Westpoint Arena were tonight cast in red with pictures that were then circulated across social media and the internet highlighting the plight of businesses affected.
Tony Rowe OBE, Chairman & Chief Executive of Exeter Rugby Club, is as frustrated as everyone within the events sector at the lack of support shown during these testing times.
“Since March our doors at Sandy Park have been shut to everything,” said Rowe. “Already we have already had to cancel over £1m in corporate business from banquets, conferences and dinners and right now I can’t see when they will come back.
“Because we have been commercially sound for many years, we’re fortunate we’ve been able to lean back on some of our assets to help raise the funds we need to keep going. However, all of this is eating into our reserves pretty quickly!”
He added: “When you look at what has happened since the start of the crisis, we were the first industry out and we’ll definitely be the last industry in. Consequently, we’ll have the longest period of non-trading and we need to know there will be some kind of financial help.
“The Light It In Red campaign is about highlighting venues like Sandy Park which, through no fault of it’s own, are having to do their utmost to get themselves back to some kind of normality. We have already done so much work behind the scenes to ensure that we are ready to go once we get the green light to open again.
“Further work will continue over the coming weeks and months to ensure that Sandy Park remains a venue that is not only of the highest standards, but also a venue that will keep all of it’s customer safe and well.”