Access All Areas March 2021 | Page 11

MARCH | OPINION

Let ’ s rally together and get over the line

Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn calls on the industry to work together to bring back festivals and help rejuvenate a generation of young people .

Rishi Sunak ’ s recent

Budget was a plan to invest in and rebuild our country where he gave new forecasts for a swifter and more sustained recovery . The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts a return to our pre- Covid economy by mid-2022 . This , next to the PM ’ s conditional roadmap to lift restrictions on 21 June , the progression of the vaccine rollout and its efficacy in preventing hospitalisation , is reason for huge optimism . Spring is in the air and it feels like we ’ re getting back on track .
The sheer confidence of the PM ’ s announcement touched a spark with the British public . Ticketmaster saw a 600 % rise in traffic to its website . Ticketmaster UK Managing Director Andrew Parsons said it was : “ a week unlike anything we ’ ve experienced in a typical February ” with two million potential buyers visiting the site .
Artists are eager to get back on the road and 95 % of fans say they are likely to attend a show when restrictions are lifted . Some 63 % of fans are keeping their tickets for rescheduled festivals . And 64 % of fans plan on attending even more live music events once the sector reopens .
This optimism must urgently be transferred to our young . Exams and university , both
Melvin Benn , Festival Republic MD
rites of passage to adulthood , have been disrupted in a way unlike anything we have previously known . This summer sees the second year of interrupted youngsters being thrown into a disrupted adult world . I understand that the Government has focused support on the working population . I can ’ t knock the furlough scheme . However , as we emerge , two years of disrupted young adults entering the work market must be one of society ’ s top priorities .
Reading and Leeds festivals are rites of passage also . This year , these festivals will give young adults the chance to remember what life can be like , to be away from parents and stress . To be autonomous for a weekend , safe and celebrating the start of their young adult lives . Festivals are places to
connect with new people with similar ideals and form unique bonds . The place to meet people who might be different to you but who become lifelong friends through shared experiences . Discovering new artists and celebrating in ones you already love , but have never seen live .
We have a responsibility here . These young adults are our future . The 16-24-year-old cohort was showing signs of increased anxiety before 2020 . After the past 12 months , a lack of certainty , both in life and learning , will have piled on new pressures .
Removing their ability to freely gather has deeply impacted our young . Those with school or college-aged kids will know this all too well .
Getting their festival season back in play has never been more important . Music festivals
will be a much-needed tonic , one that will allow our young to rediscover the sense of hope that should naturally be theirs . I want them to be partners in Green Nation .
Our charter is committed to end the use of single-use plastics , deliver a 50 % reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 , eliminate the use of fossil fuels and pursue a low-carbon economy by sourcing renewable energy .
We need the future generation to help shape this important work , for all our futures .
Industry will , of course work , with the Government , public health authorities and local authorities to ensure the correct mitigations are in place for the summer . The safety of festival-goers , artists , their crew , my staff , onsite workers , that is always my priority .
The Budget shows the economic lengths the Government will go to in protecting jobs and livelihoods . The mental wellbeing of our young and the significance of the British festival season , has never had more importance . “ Whatever it takes ”, the mantra of the chancellor , must extend to giving hope to the young adults who will drive our economy forward and shape our future world .
Festivals are as imperative to British culture as a cup of tea or the Queen . The past year has already taken so much from our kids . It ’ s now up to all of us to get behind the current momentum . Everyone needs to play their part , rally together and get us over the line .
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