29th September 2020
WeMakeEvents is calling on the industry to join together as a worldwide force on the 30th September for a Global Day Of Action As unemployment soars, 25 countries join together to represent over 30 million workers in the worldwide events industry The #WeMakeEvents campaign has been ramping up activity in order to highlight how the global live events industry urgently needs to get back to wor...
28th September 2020
HMRC has produced new guidance in relation to the Chancellors announcement yesterday that these businesses that deferred VAT payments from 20 March to 30 June 2020 will not now have to pay the full amount by the end of March 2021. Under the arrangements announced yesterday, businesses will have the option to make smaller interest-free payments up to the end of March 2022. To take advantage of this...
25th September 2020
Beardy Folk Festival (Sept 17th – 20th 2020) Under Covid restrictions – A brief report Introduction Beardy Folk Festival is situated near Cleobury Mortimer near Kidderminster. The event was held in Hopton Court and the usual capacity of the festival is 5000. However, for this year’s event tickets were limited to 750. This was the only folk festival to att...
14th September 2020
For our members in Scotland and Wales THE RULE OF 6 has some variations. Wales and Scotland have now introduced their own rules for Six people gathering which differ from England, just to complicate things for everyone! Wales In Wales, the “rule of Six” will only apply to people meeting indoors and all six people must all belong to the same “extended household group&r...
11th September 2020
AFO was part of the UKMUSIC campaign to get a reduction in VAT on Tickets sales and the subsequent campaign to confirm Festivals were seen as attractions and so be included. The following information may answer some of the queries we have been receiving. Readers may also be interested to know that there is now a new campaign to have this VAT reduction period extended into , at best the next ...
26th August 2020
The Association of Festival Organisers has always known its members are dedicated and resilient, but according to Gen. Sec Steve Heap “we really did not expect so many events to resurface in 2020.” It was generally thought the festival season was wiped out with 95% of the usual festivals postponing to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By the time we got to June there were sounds...
12th August 2020
We tried to get a consortium bid together for AFO members but I’m afraid that battle was lost. They out gunned us!! So take the advice and if £50k is too much go for a Project grant starting at £10k. See also Lucy Stones slides from her webinar on how to apply. Very useful info and all free to AFO members read on…………. We've had clarif...
7th August 2020
£50,000 Minimum Grants Application – unlikely, but there is an alternative. The Heritage Lottery Fund has a Cultural Recovery Fund for Heritage which starts at around £10,000. You may quality if your festival or event is in need of a small amount of funds to get you through. It is more reading I am afraid and you need to visit www.heritagefund.org.uk/fund...
6th August 2020
Restarting Voluntary Arts Activites Invitation: Monday 7 September 2020, 2pm - 4pm Following several months of restrictions due to the pandemic, some creative activities are permitted to resume as measures are eased. Voluntary Arts is inviting representatives from umbrella bodies and other networks involved in delivering participatory arts activities to join us for a special online discus...
31st July 2020
We are sorry to hear this. I hope it doesn’t affect you too badly and will with luck and sensible people soon be reversed. New rules on social gatherings will be introduced in Northern England to stop the spread of COVID-19. These changes will also apply in Leicester city. This will affect any events being planed in these areas. This is in response...
30th July 2020
Check out Steve Heap's article in the latest edition of Open Air Business View Document ...
21st July 2020
Key dates for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) Submit your CJRS claim for periods ending on or before 30 June 2020 by 31 July 2020. This is the last date you can make those claims. You need to have made a claim at any point on or before 31 July to be able to make a claim for future months. From 1...
20th July 2020
After several weeks of discussions with government departments the live music world was very pleased to hear the Chancellor announce a £1.57Bn support package for Arts & Heritage. This, alongside a drop of 15% in VAT on sales of tickets for attractions. Yes, festivals are attractions. The latter is to run from 15 of July to 12 of January 2021. It was an immediate boo...
15th July 2020
How has Covid-19 affected sustainability at events in your view? With the devastating effect of COVID-19 destroying the 2020 festival season it does give organisers an opportunity to reflect on how they will recover in 2021, and at the same time re-think our sustainability policies. ‘The world will never be the same again’ is a phrase I hear often describing this crisis, ...
9th July 2020
AFO has been given a strong indication from DCMS that government are very interested in supporting the festival sector. To provide the facts, figures, and information they need, we need you, the festival organisers to move VERY QUICKLY. We have teamed up with AIF to jointly pull together this information for the benefit of festivals of all types. The information requested here is ...
8th July 2020
"£1.57B of Investment to Protect Britain’s World Class Culture Arts and Heritage Institutions" That was the heading on the government's press release of 5 July. Here at AFO we were delighted. However, on closer inspection they tell us that a good proportion of this package will be in the form of loans with about £880M being handed out in grants. For m...
6th July 2020
The Question on the Order Paper was ‘Would the House Consider the E Petitions for Support for the Events Industry’? Teresa Villiers MP (see on BBC iPlayer). On 30 June and 1 July at last festivals are mentioned in the House of Commons. A Tory MP believed that the West End theatres in London should open as soon as possible. The Prime Minister supported his idea, ...
25th June 2020
The Government has today introduced its new Planning and Business Bill as part of its plan to help support high street businesses. The bill, which only applies to England, will relax licencing laws and enable businesses to provide more outdoor seating and services. At the same time, the Government is introducing changes which will remove the need for planning applications for outdoor ...
25th June 2020
In a survey carried out through the middle of the COVID-19 crisis DCMS had 3,936 responses between mid-April and mid-May. In order to narrow down the groupings festivals and events went into a section known as Events and Exhibitions, the results of which are revealing and useful. Question 1 asked whether in the next three months your organisation was financially resilient. 357 said yes, it ...
23rd June 2020
Great to see that Steve Brine MP requested that the PM speak to the DCMS this summer. The AFO immediately contacted Steve and is now sending over statistics/information that will help him convince the treasury that finance support is needed for our sector. We will keep you updated! ...
