Live Events Workers Rally To Save Their Jobs With 'Empty Event' In Tempe

Live event industry workers set up an "empty" event in Tempe on Tuesday to highlight how many have lost their jobs or are struggling because of the pandemic.

Nearly 100 out-of-work employees pushed empty road cases from the Marquee Theatre to Tempe Beach Park, where socially distanced folding chairs were set up. On each chair was the name of a worker impacted by COVID-19.

"It was pretty impactful stuff and a little eerie doing an event to no one, But that's the point. It got people talking. It got people understanding," David J. Cruse of the Arizona Events Coalition said in an interview with AZ Central. The coalition was one of the organizations behind the protest.

Live events - like concerts, theater performances, and trade shows - were canceled in Arizona and throughout the U.S. as soon as the pandemic started and have been unable to restart under current COVID-19 restrictions. From stage hands to producers to admin staff in the industry have been unable to work for most of the pandemic.

Similar "empty" events were held across the nation as the live event industry is asking politicians for financial help. They are urging government officials on both sides of the aisle to expand unemployment assistance or pass an aid package to help the event industry.

"If we don't get help now, we are not going to have a live events industry when all of this pandemic is over," said Kelsey Rausch, a volunteer at the event, told AZ Family.

Photo: Getty Images