The façade of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Building will be illuminated in red color on September 1, 2020, Tuesday from 7pm-8pm. The lighting event is CCP’s support to a worldwide cause of the live events industry led by the National Live Events Coalition (NLEC-PH).
The live events industry is a wide network of collaborators – planners, organizers, suppliers, talents, and freelancers. NLEC-PH was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its critical impact on the live events industry to amplify the voices, to empower, and to be advocates for every event practitioner.
While the NLEC-PH has made strides in coordinating with the government (with the Inter-Agency Task Force, in particular) in seeking support for the industry, thousands are still unemployed and companies are still struggling. Millions of our counterparts across the globe in the live events industry are still seeking aid, unemployment benefits and government assistance.
In the past couple of weeks, there have been campaigns across Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in support of the Live Events Industry where many event venues, outdoor spaces, theaters, arenas, iconic buildings and landmarks were lit red to shine a light on the crisis during the pandemic. Movement in the United States plans to light red hundreds of buildings on September 1st, to call for urgent government assistance.
In order to raise awareness in the Philippines, the NLEC-PH is encouraging its fellow technical providers and rental companies to join in the campaign “Light up in Red” on the same date and time in support for all live event stakeholders.
The CCP fully supports these initiatives; and, as convenor of the Association of Philippine Performing Arts Spaces (APPAS), enjoins all its member-art spaces to participate in solidarity with NLEC-PH.
Ariel S.R. Yonzon, Associate Artistic Director for Production and Exhibition, CCP, said: “The live events industry sector is a unique conglomeration of talent, skilled labor and service supply chain – many of whom have been direly affected by the pandemic; with mass gatherings embargo and quarantine protocols, in place. We are all eager to get back to work and do what we love most – to interact and socialize, to present and perform, to fully experience live events with all our senses beyond mere virtual substitutes. With Red Light September 1, let the light shine on our plight.”
