On Wednesday 30th September from 6.30pm-8.30pm Brighton’s iconic moving pier, the British Airways i360 Viewing Tower together with venues along the seafront to the Palace Pier and beyond will be lit up red in solidarity for everyone in the events industry affected by Covid-19, in support of them securing further funding following the ending of furlough at the beginning of October. The activity begins in New Zealand and will travel around the world in local time.
The Brighton activation is spearheaded by a core group of event professionals including the founder of creative event producers Partridge Events Jacqui Partridge and Ian Silcock, Ian Baird founder of EPIC and Whisky Bravo Productions and John Wallis from Reveries Events. All felt, as Brighton is a key player in the UK events calendar, it was important for the destination to be involved in a bold and creative way to highlight the power and input of the local industry to the economy. Jacqui said “there are many people who have fallen through the cracks and not received any help, this is about them as well as securing more help from Government if there is no start date to get our businesses up and running again. “
A team of volunteers has been pulled together with lighting and production companies for the evening spectacle which includes buildings and landmarks along the seafront. Partridge continued “we’d like as many venues to light up red as possible, with LED lighting it’s easy to achieve and they can register taking part at https://www.lightitinred.co.uk/.”
Each year Brighton hosts at least 14 major events including Pride which contributes £20.5 million to the local economy and hosts 450,000 people over the weekend. A destination city for politicians, entertainment and music lovers, the Brighton Centre alone hosts 90 live events throughout the year for 250,000 people and 30 conferences and exhibitions for 50,000.
Julia Gallagher, Head of Sales, Partnership & Marketing at Visit Brighton said “All events at the Brighton Centre have been cancelled due to restrictions. Meetings, incentives, conferences, and events are the lifeblood of the City as they fill hotel rooms during the off-peak season, creating economic benefit which sustains our workforce, 16% of whom are engaged in jobs supported by the visitor economy. It is crucial that the industry is supported to a full return as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Brighton & Hove also host a range of festivals from the Fringe, to food and new music with the Great Escape Festival utilising over 80 venues to showcase unsigned bands plus Paddle Around the Pier the largest free beach festival in Europe. Sporting events are also a feature with the marathon, half marathon and triathlon.
EventProfs can get involved from home on 30th by signing up to www.wemakeevents.com to receive information and ideas in support of the campaign. Partridge concluded “it’s important to get our message to as many people as possible to affect change.”
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
