In an article for the New European, Christine Jardine highlights the threats to our cultural events, most notably the Edinburgh Festival, posed by Brexit:
But sadly if our creative industries are not protected world class events like the Festival, Glastonbury, and many others may find that musicians used to touring Europe freely with no issues over EU crew or equipment licenses could find the whole process becomes slower, more expensive and just downright difficult.
They might opt to take up other opportunities on the continent or elsewhere.
Music development organisations and other cultural groups might also find themselves without the vital funding stream previously provided by the EU.
But that is the immediate effect. There could also be collateral damage for one of our other most important industries if they cease to be the cash cows the tourist industry has come to depend on.
And the scale of visitor numbers attracted by the Edinburgh Festival every year demands a huge hospitality sector in which an estimated 50 per cent of the workforce come from other EU states.
Without freedom of movement many of them may not wish, or be able to stay.
It’s absolutely clear that if we are to protect those areas which are not just central to our economic but also our social and cultural wellbeing our creative industries need changes now.
You can read the whole article here.
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One Comment
Interestingly I’ve seen concerts in recent years with soloists from Australia, Croatia, China to name but three – how did that happen?t. As far as the hospitality workers are concerned it’s quite simple – working visas for the period of the festival. All it requires is a bit of imagination OR actually intervening in the benefits system etc and employ local or Scottish workers on the living wage providing accommodation where necessary.
The LIb Dems have got to come to terms with the fact that those at the bottom no longer wish to compete with the whole of Europe and would actually like a piece of the cake that most Lib Dems seem to enjoy and that the workers at the lowest rung demand an economy that offers them the dignity and respect commensurate with being in a top ten economy.