The South African live events, technical and production services industry’s market position and COVID-19 funding implications

COVID-19 has had a significant economic impact on a global scale. The national lockdown, enacted through the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002, disrupted multiple economic activities, including that of the Creative and Cultural industries. In the performance and celebrations domain, under which live events (.i.e., theatre and performance) and technical production services (i.e., technical support and services for theatre and performance) resort, the postponement or cancellation of events in the face of the pandemic had a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods. An initiative called #LightSAred, initiated by the South African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) and the Technical Production and Services Association, was one of the private initiatives aimed at extending financial relief to those who earn a living in the technical production and live events industry. However, the lack of reliable data about the industry's market and the impact of COVID-19 was a significant challenge in resource development and allocation. In response, the Sun Circle Group, a media company that services the live entertainment and professional audio-visual industries in South Africa, conducted an extensive online survey of businesses in this industry. For this study, permission has been obtained from the Sun Circle Group to analyse the secondary data set. Situated within the literature on the creative economy, analysing the secondary industry data in this article offers an understanding of the market position and perceived financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Live Events, Technical and Production Services industry. The results of this research support advocacy for a long-term national strategy to secure livelihoods and the sustainability of not only the Live Events, Technical and Production Services industry, but the CCIs as a whole.