Following the success of the #WeMakeEvents campaigns in Europe (#WeMakeEvents), the United States and North America (#RedAlertRESTART) and South Africa (#LightSAred), among others – the Spanish events industry is the latest taking to the streets, calling for support following the damning effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.
Taking place on 17 September, ahead of the demonstration a translated statement – taken from the #AlertaRoja campaign site – reads the following [sic]: “As is being seen, given the lack of recognition of a clear vulnerability, and of concrete aid by the government, it is vital to give visibility to the worrying situation that the Show and Events sector is experiencing, under the same slogan and direction to urge the Government of Spain and the responsible Ministries (Labor, Finance, Economic Affairs, Culture and Sports, and Industry) to take urgent measures in the coming weeks to guarantee the survival of the sector, in addition to immediately creating a sectoral table that define its needs, affected by the seasonality and intermittency of the activity, giving priority to regulation through the negotiation of a sectoral collective agreement at the national level.”
The two main calls to action for the Spanish sector are: the much-needed visibility of the fabric that composes it and the parallel work towards a future and broad representation that covers the entire sector of shows and events. The statement reads: “To achieve this, it is necessary to act in a united, homogeneous and transversal way in the coming months and create a common portal under which all the participants of the sector join, integrate and locate, thus allowing the indexing of all organisations, associations, platforms, federations, companies and workers that make it up.”
Este #17S iluminamos ciudades, vestimos de rojo balcones y ventanas, la movilización ha sido segura y multitudinaria, como los eventos que organizamos. Ha sido un día histórico por la unión de todo el sector. GRACIAS#Apoyo17S #AlertaRoja #RedAlert #HacemosEventos #WeMakeEvents pic.twitter.com/hnziu8tZ4u
— Alerta Roja (@AlertaRojaES) September 17, 2020
Comprised by 37 participatory organisations and different collaborative organisations, the movement was united under a neutral, open and apolitical axis based on the International Movement of the Cultural Industry of the Show and Events, with were also involved in proceedings governed by the slogans: #RedAlert, #WeEvents, #RedAlert and #WeMakeEvents.
The 17 September demonstration has been declared as the first step in the union of the Spanish events sector.
