After the ban on gatherings with more than 500 participants was introduced in March, which was subsequently sharpened to 50 participants, virtually all event and entertainment production in the Swedish arenas has ceased - and the live industry is now in deep crisis.

A number of major players in the Swedish entertainment industry, including companies, industry organizations and trade unions, are now joining forces in a call calling on the Swedish government to support the industry in the same way as in the UK. There, the country's government has decided to provide targeted support of £ 1.5 billion to the entertainment industry - and according to Marie Lindqvist of the event company Stockholm Live, the industry now wants to see similar measures from the Swedish government.

-What we have in common is that since March we are basically covered by a business ban and in principle have no income whatsoever. We were also the ones who got to close first - and who are also likely to be the ones to open last, she says.

"Weeks go"

Already at the beginning of June, the industry organization for the sponsorship and event industry, SES, also sent a home request to Minister of Industry Ibrahim Baylan, requesting assistance, and according to Marie Lindqvist, the current call is based on the previous initiative.

-We also had a meeting a month ago with the Ministry of Industry and Culture - but have not received any feedback on it. The weeks go by and now we need to see, just as it has done in the UK, that the Swedish government recognizes the seriousness and is also ready to invest in an industry that is so important - and which we often emphasize as something we are proud of.

"Don't get into dialogue"

Marie Lindqvist says she wants to raise above all two issues that are extra important for the industry's survival.

- Firstly, we want to start a dialogue with the Public Health Authority about what the conditions for a responsible opening can look like. The second question is the one that deals with targeted support to the industry - and then we talk about the entire ecosystem. Many that you may not always see are affected by this - for example, stage workers, sound technicians, make-up queens and transporters, she says and continues:

-It's a gigantic ecosystem that is now collapsing. We want to look at the conditions that exist together - but we do not get into a dialogue, ”she says.