Philadelphia Buildings Light Up Red to Support Entertainment and Arts Workers

The Philadelphia chapter of the Live Events Coalition #WeMakeEvents is joining a nation-wide "Red Alert" on September 1, when buildings, venues, and locations in Philadelphia and nationwide will light in red from 9PM to 12 midnight to raise public awareness that the Live Events Industry is on "Red Alert" for its very survival.

Where: The Wilma Theater (265 S. Broad Street), The Suzanne Roberts Theater (480 S. Broad Street), Asian Arts Initiative (1219 Vine Street), Philly Improv Theater (2030 Sansom Street), and IATSE Local 8 (2401 S. Swanson Street).

More information: Live Events Coalition #WeMakeEvents together with local partners IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 8 is sending a message to the US Congress imploring them to offer economic relief to the Live Events Industry by passing the RESTART Act (S.3814).

Shuttered since March, 2020, putting millions of people out of work, the industry is organizing a national 'Red Start' (#RedAlertRESTART) campaign on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, when buildings, venues, and iconic locations in Philadelphia and nationwide will light up in Red from 9 pm to 12 midnight to raise public awareness that the Live Events Industry is on Red Alert for its very survival, and create congressional pressure to act now.

Due to Covid-19, 62% of arts workers report that they are fully unemployed and 94% of arts workers report income loss. As theaters, concert tours, festivals, opera houses, trade shows, and other live events as well as film and television production remain closed or open on a limited basis, the entire industry is impacted--- from designers, technicians, programmers, and stagehands, to rental shops, manufacturers, and distributors of entertainment technology. Live Events was the first industry to close last March, and will most likely be the last sector to re-open due to the Covid-19 crisis.