Orwell Bridge lit up in red to show support for live events scene
The Orwell Bridge in Suffolk was illuminated in red on Tuesday night to highlight the challenges facing the live events scene during the pandemic.
The stunning display was organised by Ipswich-based companies Green Spark and Gofer who wanted to show their support for the industry.
The stunt was part of a national day of action as venues up and down the country turned their lights red as part of the Red Alert campaign.
Green Spark provides stages, screens, lighting and sounds for events, and like other companies in the industry, has seen its profits decimated in recent months.
“In March we saw a whole year’s worth of work get cancelled," Adam Clark, Managing Director of Green Spark said.
"We provide production services for business events and the likelihood is that it will be some time before we see face to face events happening again."
Nic Forsdike, Managing Director of Gofer, added: “It is not just large high profile events that are affected. There are thousands of small companies involved in the events supply chain with a highly skilled workforce that we are in danger of losing."
The majority of UK venues have been shut for months as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, putting jobs at risk.
According to organisers of the Red Alert campaign, around a million people work in the events sector.
Campaigners are calling for additional government support to help people and companies who work in the sector.