LIVE MUSIC VENUES OFFERING SPACES AND SERVICES IN COVID-19 VACCINE ROLLOUT
“We stand ready to work with Federal and State governments to save lives and get America back to work and school.”
With venues sitting empty since last March, prominent event production companies have written a letter to President Biden offering their spaces and services in turning these large spaces into vaccination sites.
Live Nation and National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a group launched last April in response to the financial hardship live music has faced during the pandemic, are just two of the many groups that offered their facilities and services in the name of the public’s health and safety.
The letter begins by congratulating President Biden on his victory, stating that it, “signifies the unity and hope necessary to move America forward.” It then goes on to say, “We represent businesses, workers, and entertainers that make up the majority of the live event industry. While we have been effectively shuttered by the pandemic, we have vast resources that, if fully utilized, could provide invaluable mechanisms in our country’s vaccine distribution. In fact, because we are shuttered, we are able to offer the full weight of our industry to support vaccine distribution beginning immediately”
After pointing out that many venues have already been working with State and Local officials to enact vaccine programs, it states that other facilities that are sitting empty could serve as ideal locations for distributing the vaccine. In order to further prove their point, the letter states that “Live events is one of the best prepared, best-equipped, most experienced industries in America to manage and control large crowds in a rapid, organized fashion. Moving people in, out, and around a public gathering space swiftly and safely is the foundation of our industry.”
The joint letter also focuses on how the venues are often located in easily accessible areas, with easy access to parking and typically near public transit. It also points out that these places have “empty standard refrigeration systems” and that their staff is “accustomed to patron queuing and crowd management”.
This plea from the live music industry ends in yet another reminder of the sobering reality of the pandemic;
“We have been closed for nearly one full year to protect public health. Please let us now go to work to protect public health.”
Read the full letter here.