Live events reinsurance scheme too little too late for UK festivals and live events

The Government has finally introduced a Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, which provides an insurance guarantee for events organisers, allowing them to plan ahead without the risk of losing thousands if their event is cancelled.

Whilst this is a positive step forward, Bectu, industry leaders and performers have been lobbying for a government backed insurance scheme for over a year. The live events industry and the freelance workforce who are its backbone, would have benefitted from an insurance scheme long before the summer, to give them the time to safely plan ahead, put on events this summer and end the uncertainty that has had such a detrimental impact on workers.

The inability to obtain this insurance for 18 months has led many festivals and organisers to cancel their events months ago, therefore losing two vital summers in a row through fear of cancellations. While it is better late than never, the implementation of an insurance scheme so late in the day will feel bittersweet for those that need not have cancelled if it had been introduced sooner.

The reinsurance scheme also fails to meet the needs of theatres, through excluding protections such as the cancellation of performances due to isolation or illness, and the consequences of operating at limited capacities, which makes most shows financially unviable. Much more must be done to provide long term cover for theatres and address the risks that performances bring.

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs says: “The news of the live events reinsurance scheme is welcome but will sadly be too little too late for the majority of UK festivals and live events. Bectu have been lobbying for government backed insurance for over a year alongside industry leaders and other unions, and introducing a scheme at the end of the summer will do little for those events that have already been cancelled. Anything to support the industry getting back on its feet is positive, but more could have been done much earlier.”