Festival cheer at Sunak’s live event guarantee
MUSIC festivals and other live events are to be supported by a £750million insurance scheme backed the Government, Rishi Sunak revealed.
It will cover costs incurred for cancellations due to Covid restrictions being imposed – as insurance has been an obstacle for organisers during the pandemic.
The Chancellor’s announcement delighted the entertainment industry that feared further “devastating” disruption without intervention. Mr Sunak said: “I know organisers are raring to go now that restrictions have been lifted.
“But the lack of the right kind of insurance is proving a problem...I want to do everything I can to help events providers.”
Speaking as he visited the London Wonderground outdoor family festival yesterday, he added: “With this new insurance scheme, everything from live music in Margate to business events in Birmingham can go ahead with confidence.”
UK Music boss Jamie NjokuGoodwin praised the “incredibly welcomed” announcement. He said: “The inability to obtain insurance has already caused many cancellations this summer.”
The sector is worth more than £70billion a year to the economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs.