Filenews 21 January 2021
Music stars including Elton John, Sting, Bob Geldof and Ed Sheeran said the UK government had "shamefully failed" on the post-Brexit trade deal and urged it to reach an agreement with the European Union to secure visas and travel without paperwork.
They stressed that the trade pact, unveiled at Christmas, leads to "extra costs" and work that would "make many travel destinations unsustainable, especially for young emerging musicians who are already struggling to keep their heads above water because of the ban on live music because of the Conid-19." Instead they called for "undocumented trips to Europe for British artists and their equipment."
A key condition under the trade agreement is that musicians and those accompanying them on their tours need separate visas for each EU Member State.
More than 100 well-known personalities of the music scene signed the open letter, organized by the Society of Musicians and published in the newspaper "The Times". "British musicians, dancers, actors and their support staff were sadly let down by their government," he said. "The agreement that has been made with the EU has a gap that must be seamless, free movement for musicians."
Source: RES- ICM
