Live Event Industry Collectively Offers To Assist In Vaccination Efforts In Letter To President Biden

Various major players in the live event industry on Tuesday came together to formally offer to assist President Joe Biden in the U.S.’s efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. The live event industry finds itself in a unique position to contribute to vaccination efforts as the pandemic has shuttered venues nationwide, leaving empty spaces and the furloughed crowd management staff who once them available and eager to get back to work.

The letter to the President was signed by various high-profile—and, in some cases, competing—entities in the live event production space including two of the nation’s biggest concert promoters, AEG and Live Nation. The letter was also signed by various industry organizations and relief entities including Broadway League, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), We Make Events, and National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), which in 2020 successfully lobbied for the inclusion of the Save Our Stages Act in the most recent federal stimulus bill.

Also signed on to the letter is Oak View Group (OVG), the Irving Azoff– and-Tim Leiweke-run entertainment and sports facilities company which boasts a sponsorship/partnership division, a consulting wing, a venue security company, and a 28-member “arena/stadium alliance” including NYC’s Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles’ The Forum, Boston’s TD Garden, Denver’s Pepsi Center, Chicago’s United Center, Dallas’ American Airlines Center, and others.

“Since the pandemic shuttered our industry almost a year ago, our buildings and our co-workers have been paused, unutilized, and struggling,” noted Dayna Frank, owner and CEO of First Avenue Productions and board president of NIVA, in a press statement. “These vaccines are our best chance at putting COVID-19 behind us, and our experiences organizing events and managing crowds now put us in the unique position of being the best prepared and most qualified industry to support the vaccination effort and get this country on the road to recovery.”

“It’s human nature to come together in good times and bad, and our industry is committed to doing everything in our power to bring people together again – not just for events, but for every aspect of community that we have been missing,” added Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment. “Live Nation has venues across the country that are capable of managing critical onsite elements of the vaccine rollout and we are eager to pitch in and be part of the solution.”

You can read the full letter to President Biden from the aforementioned collective of live event industry entities offering their services in assisting vaccination efforts below:

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations to you and Vice President Harris on an inauguration signifying the unity and hope necessary to move America forward. As you set about achieving the ambitious goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in 100 days, we wish to offer the full support and resources of the live event industry. We share your vision of expedient, equitable, and widespread vaccine distribution. It is our duty, as businesses rooted in communities across the nation, to do our part to set America on a positive path during this time of crisis. We stand ready to work with Federal and State governments to save lives and get America back to work and school.

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.

We are here to help. In fact, many venues are already working on the State and Local level to implement vaccine programs. Our industry has thousands of venues throughout America that are under mandated closures and sitting empty. Event venues make ideal community vaccination sites: they are located in most urban, suburban and rural communities, often near transit lines and with easy access to parking. Our interiors are clear span with bright work lights and empty standard refrigeration systems. Due to the nature of our business, our buildings and workforce are accustomed to patron queuing and crowd management.

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. Additionally, our familiarity using ticketing systems for advanced notification, timed entry and crowd management can greatly improve patient experience before and during vaccination as well as on-site management. There are several thousand companies in the live event industry which own the equipment and infrastructure required to build vaccination sites. An estimated 95% of live events industry businesses and workers have lost nearly 100% of their revenue, and are ready and willing to get to work immediately. These organizations can design, deliver, and manage the infrastructure as well as the people needed to staff them.

We have been closed for nearly one full year to protect public health. Please let us now go to work to protect public health. We share your goal to get America back to work, school and in gathering places of all kinds quickly and safely. We are ready to meet to discuss how we can help as soon as you and your staff are able.

Sincerely,

AEG
Bandit Lites
The Broadway League
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)
Live Nation
National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)
National Independent Talent Organization (NITO)
National Independent Venue Association (NIVA)
Oak View Group
Save Live Events Now
We Make Events