JANUARY | FEATURE in March last year has been huge , not least as it costs nearly £ 13m per year to maintain it . In December , the Government announced it would provide a loan of £ 20.7m to support the venue until it can return to pre-Covid levels of programming .
“ The funding is much needed ,” says Warnock . “ The Government needs to look more seriously at more buildings and more circumstances . Many venues need long-term help as we try and come out of this terrible pandemic .”
The agent says that the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations should help the events industry bounce back in the next few months : “ We are hopeful that by April or May we will be able to see some real developments in how vaccines are distributed and how people can come back and enjoy every form of entertainment that they
Below : Neil Warnock want to see both here and elsewhere . We ’ re all still speculating but we ’ re all so hopeful that will be able to begin providing the entertainment to celebrate the Hall ’ s 150th as soon as possible .”
Another key challenge the industry must overcome in the coming months is Brexit , and not surprisingly Warnock says he is more than a little concerned : “ Clearly anybody who ’ s not concerned about Brexit is really not living in the moment – we ’ ve got all sorts of problems that concern us in relation to moving artists and particularly their equipment from country to country . That is extremely concerning , and we can only hope that there is a proper resolution and that we are heard in government . We are petitioning government , as are other industries , in an effort to make sure that there is no interruption to our flow of trade both in and out of the UK .”
Asked how well artists are coping with the Covid situation , and them having been prevented from playing live at anything other than drastically reduced-capacity shows , Warnock says some are going “ absolutely berserk ”.
“ Some acts are used to playing 150 shows a year and that ’ s where they get their motivation from , being performers is their buzz and that ’ s
“ Some acts are used to playing 150 shows a year and that ’ s where they get their motivation from , being performers is their buzz and that ’ s what they ’ re missing so badly .”
what they ’ re missing so badly ,” he says . “ Meanwhile , other performers have been reflective and used the time to record and work on new projects . It just really depends on the artists and their circumstances , but overall artist can ’ t wait to get back to engage once more with their audiences .”
One such beneficial creative development to come out of the Covid era is live streaming and Warnock says he is convinced it will continue to play a significant role in live performance packages : “ I think it ’ s here to stay in some form . It will evolve . Like anything else , when you are put under pressure to create something the best comes out of it eventually . I think it will be a creative element for a lot of artists going forward , maybe as an adjunct on the back of what they ’ re doing live or sometimes as a separate event . No matter what , you can never replace the electricity , the connection with the artists , at a real live event – that will never be replicated through a stream .”
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