VEREENIGING. – The #LightSAred Campaign will see the South African technical production and live events industry standing together to make their voices heard tonight to remind the government that events bring South Africans together – which is the heart of our nation!

The live events industry, comprising of freelancers, event venues, event organisers, entertainers, photographers, event suppliers and technical supply companies have been unable to work, thousands of people have lost their ability to make a living. Suppliers have had no choice but to rely on the government’s TERS funding to pay salaries, and very few have managed to benefit in any meaningful way from this relief measure.

As a locally based technical supplier within the live events industry, Synergy Production House participated by lighting the historical Riviera on Vaal Hotel red in solidarity with fellow industry colleagues, partners and clients.

“Lighting of the iconic hotel not only represents our company, but also technical suppliers, freelancers, entertainers, bands, singers, photographers, videographers and all other event suppliers within the live events industry in the Vaal that have been unable to work for the past 5 months.”

If the current state of affairs is allowed to persist until the fabled “level 0’ of Covid-19 alert, there will not be a single supplier left to make events happen in South Africa. More than 12 500 suppliers in this industry will go out of business further shrinking the tax pool. The events industry is dying and they feel they are being ignored.

South Africans in the industry are called to join them as they light buildings in red from 18:00 to 20:00 to raise awareness of their plight. Anyone concerned about the future of live events can participate by lighting a building, an empty stage, a garden or any object in red, then taking a photo and sharing it on their social media platforms while including the campaign hashtag, #LightSAred.