Support the Carry On Touring Campaign
Post-Brexit EU touring isn’t working: join campaign to get touring back on the road and creatives back into work
Support the Carry On Touring campaign for as little as £2
People are being asked to join a pan-European campaign to get touring creatives back on the road post-Brexit, after the Government failed to negotiate EU-wide work permits for touring creatives and their crews.
For as little as £2 people can support the Carry On Touring campaign and pledge their support for musicians, artists, models, authors and their crews, many of whom will not be able to tour Europe under the new rules for visas.
The Carry On Touring campaign started in February 2021 with a petition from freelance video technician Tim Brennan, who is campaigning for a pan European EU visa and work permit waiver to be negotiated for touring creatives to keep tours moving round Europe after Brexit.
The campaign brings together voices from across the touring, cultural and creative industries sectors to secure cross-party support within Parliament to stop people touring Europe from having to obtain separate work visas for each country they visit. Something which is already having a detrimental impact on tours and could strike a catastrophic blow to an industry already battling the challenges of the pandemic.
Carry On Touring supporters include David Knopfler, founding member of Dire Straits, broadcaster Andy Kershaw, music author Sheila Kandra, songwriter Fish and tour manager Chris Markland, who’s worked with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Rudimental and Meatloaf.
Campaign found Tim Brennan said: “The Government’s failure to negotiate an EU-wide permit for touring creatives is already having a devasting impact on the careers of artists and their crews at home and in Europe.
“Everyone one from truck drivers to musicians have been affected and whilst the challenges of covid have masked the gravity of the issue up until now, we’re now seeing real problems occur for touring creatives.
“We’re working on behalf of these creatives but we need support to keep putting pressure on the Government. So far the Brexit Minister Lord Frost has been very flippant about the issue and has only engaged with us through junior members of his team. Now is the time to stand up for creatives and get tours back on the road.”
You can support the Carry On Touring campaign on a pay what you can afford basis and begins at just £2. Any money raised will be used to support the campaign. You can donate to the campaign on the Carry on Touring website.
So far the Carry On Touring campaign has:
- Gained 286,794 signatories for Tim Brennan's petition, which was debated in Parliament and brought the post Brexit Creative touring issue into the limelight with the help of some great celebrity support.
- Held an EU/UK Summit with hundreds of attendees from across Europe to demonstrate support for creative touring professionals and artists.
- Sent an open letter with 1135 signatories to Brexit Minister Lord Frost to demand Government fix the issues touring faces.
- Leveraged cross-party support for our campaign and received support from high profile politicians.
- Brought together the different parts of the creative industry to speak with one voice, including music, fashion, acting, dance, theatre, advertising & all the support staff that go with them
- Engaged with various groups across the EU, including Impala, UNI-MEI, Cross Border Services, Pearle, FIA, Vibelab, to help highlight the issues we face.
- Hold / attend regular meetings with various groups within the industry, including, Live!, RHA, C.R.E.W. Coalition, and our own Advisory group.
- Pulled together useful information from various sectors of the creative industry into a Info Hub.
- Provided a platform for people from across the creative industries to be able to tell us their stories on how they are being affected by the post Brexit touring crisis.
- Offer advice for creatives struggling to find the right information necessary to work within the EU27 through various Facebook Forums.
Notes to Editors
Tim Brennan’s petition asks the UK Government to negotiate a free cultural work permit that gives touring professionals visa free travel throughout the 27 EU states for music touring professionals, bands, musicians, artists, TV and sports celebrities that tour the EU to perform shows and events and to secure a Carnet exception for touring equipment. Very clearly Tim’s petition chimed a chord with the public and the many UK artists and professionals who tour in the cities and nations across Europe, with over 280,000 signatures that continues to rise. On the back of Tim’s petition, the Carry on Touring campaign was established to keep the pressure on Government to go back to the negotiating table.
Carry on Touring is the umbrella campaign which all those who tour – and rely on touring - can support and sit under. It brings together voices from across the touring, cultural and creative industries sectors to secure cross-party support for Tim Brennan’s petition and campaign for a return of free EU movement for all touring artists and professionals. The strength of this campaign is that it is inclusive reaching across the sector, industry and political parties. This public facing campaign brings a spectrum of voices together to demonstrate its diversity and demographic.