Classical music leaders push for outdoor concerts to resume as soon as possible
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
A letter to the government requests that outdoor performing arts spearhead the sector’s return at the earliest opportunity
The letter has been signed by the likes of Annilese Miskimmon, artistic director at the ENO, Oliver Mears, director of Opera at the Royal Opera House, and 60 other names from Arts Council funded organisations.
It was designed by the Coalition for Open Air Theatre (COAT) and think tank Out to Perform (OTP).
Last year’s decision to allow live outdoor performance to restart on 11 July, followed the Coalition for Open Air Theatre’s recommendations.
Out to Perform estimates the impact of this decision allowed 500k people able to experience the joy of attending small-scale live performances last year, generating c. £7m in revenue.
The government’s policies also enabled outdoor carol singing in England to take place after 2 December following Out To Perform’s Save Carol Singing campaign giving an estimated 100k people the pleasure of singing together safely for the first time since March.
The collective has requested that as the government continues to manage the difficult balance of unlocking of the economy whilst protecting public health, it should consider allowing the segment of the performing arts with the lowest Covid risks to lead the national cultural revival and reopen after lockdown ends.
While big-ticket outdoor summer festivals are unlikely to operate this year due to their scale, style and long lead-times, OTP and COAT believe that focusing on smaller scale and more local outdoor events can more than fill their place, kickstarting the cultural renaissance of the UK.
They also asked the government to consider how ‘outside’ doesn’t just mean summer. Case studies from Out To Perform, The Minack Theatre and data from Indigo Audience research suggests people are more prepared to attend outdoor performances in all seasons and weather than in previous years due to cultural starvation.
The signatories to the letter hope to provide the government with advice and support, which leads to setting out a roadmap which will lead to earlier national revival of performing arts, by focusing on the part of the sector most easy to make safe. To that end it hopes that the government will consider events that are initially:
- Outdoors: where the air is Covid-safer
- Local: where audiences will, initially, be primarily from the local area
- Small-scale: under c.500 people
- Controlled seating: where social distancing can be much more easily managed between bubbles
Stuart Barr, founder/CEO, Out To Perform, said: 'We believe this is the earliest safe route for the nation to enjoy the uplift that only live entertainment can bring, as well as supporting jobs across the country.
'Covid is a terrible disease, and the government is right to do everything it can to reduce risk of serious illness. But DCMS guidance already states that outdoor performances are much safer than indoors due to the quick dispersal of aerosols.'