The WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART and #ExtendPUA, held this past week on the evening of Tuesday, September 1, saw buildings, structures, and residences lit in red from 9 pm to 12 am (local time in each market) as the event rolled across North America. The goal: public awareness that the Live Events Industry is on Red Alert for its very survival and to create congressional pressure to act now.
Specifically, the effort implores the U.S. Congress to pass the RESTART Act (S.3814) as quickly as possible to provide much-needed relief to the live events industry in light of the pandemic. In addition, the movement is supporting ExtendPUA.org in its efforts toward continuation and extension of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to provide relief to those without work. Show your support here.
Here’s a video of the event, followed by photos of several sites that participated:
The targeted list of cities for the #WeMakeEvents #RedAlertRESTART #ExtendPUA event across North America included Washington D.C., Huntsville, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Nashville, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Boulder, Fayetteville, Lexington, Louisville, and Canadian neighbors including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
The North American event comes on the heels of the August 11 event #WeMakeEvents Red Alert Day Of Action when more than 700 buildings were lit in red across the UK, calling attention to the same plight facing the live event industry there.
As theatres, concert tours, festivals, opera houses, trade shows, and other live events as well as film and television production remain closed, or open on a very limited basis, the entire industry is impacted, from designers, technicians, programmers, and stage hands to rental shops, manufacturers, and distributors of entertainment technology. The first industry to close last March, Live Events could be the last sector to re-open due to the COVID-19 crisis. Show your support here.
