The events industry are lighting South Africa red on the 5th of August to raise awareness for all the people suffering a loss of income over the last 140 days!
South Africa (04 August 2020) – The “Light SA Red” campaign will see the South African technical production and live events industry standing together to make their voices heard on the 5th of August!
The industry, comprising of freelancers, venues, theatres, companies and businesses have been unable to work since the blanket ban on all events, due to the Coronavirus, implemented in South Africa on 15 March 2020.
In early March, the first rumblings started that the South African Government would be implementing a range of measures to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19 in South Africa. Companies in the events sector saw the first in a slew of event cancellations. Before we knew it, all schools were closed and gatherings greater than 50 people were banned. At that moment, every stakeholder in the events and theatre industry was forced to come to terms with the reality that the industry would be the first to feel the impact and would likely be the last to recover from the economic tsunami set off by the COVID-19 quake.
A team of event companies started talking about how they could raise awareness and so the “Light SA Red” campaign was born!
“We refuse to be the forgotten industry. For decades our industry has brought smiles to faces, we’ve provided entertainment with theatre productions, political rallies, sports events, festivals and so much more to South Africa. We are usually behind the scenes, but we are now standing up to “Light SA Red” and make our voices heard.”
Look out for the “light protest” everywhere on the 5th of August!
“Our aim is to be acknowledged by the South African government and to come up with an itinerary to keep our industry alive. The event industry has been hit exceptionally hard and affects a range of people and companies from artists to freelancers, theatres and venues, equipment suppliers and various other trades within.”
Light SA Red aims to draw attention to this crisis. The events industry is collectively creating a large scale campaign that takes place across South Africa and has an extensive media reach. For all those involved in this event, the action is to simultaneously light buildings and structures across the nation.
You can join the live stream from 6 pm tomorrow or help raise awareness of their plight by lighting a building, an empty stage, a garden or any object in red, then taking a photo and sharing it on their social media platforms while including the campaign hashtag, #LightSAred.
For more information, check out the “Light SA Red” website by clicking here.
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