Amidst the ongoing energy crisis in the UK which has seen the cost of energy skyrocket, live music venues and nightlife organisations in the UK are calling on the government to help alleviate them to avoid industry-wide bankruptcy.
An open letter penned by The Nighttime Industries Association, the Music Venue Trust, the British Institute of Innkeeping, UK Hospitality, and British Beer & Pub Association was published last week. This comes after the news that music and hospitality venues are facing average annual energy cost increases of up to 300%. This puts venues at high risk of closure, and jobs on the line in the process. The open letter outlines how if this were to transpire, the blow to the economic growth would be significant.
The letter notes that “a significant number of energy providers have withdrawn service provision from the Hospitality market altogether,” while “rocketing energy prices have become a matter of existential emergency for businesses in our sector.” The named organisations call upon the UK government to outline a support package for the hospitality and nightlife sectors as soon as possible.
In a statement, CEO of the Music Venues Trust, Mark Davyd says that “The Government must act to create a genuinely functioning market for energy services,” following what he describes as “two incredibly difficult years where venues have had to fight for simple survival.” According to a recent report from CarbonBrief, energy costs in the UK are currently at the highest they have ever been in the past fifty years, due in large part to the government rolling back on climate policies over the past ten years. The UK Government has already offered relief from energy costs to households.
The full letter is available to read here via The Nighttime Industries Association website.
