The tours threatened - collection of names for musicians' free movement after Brexit

On January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom will leave the EU.

The Brexit agreement was concluded on Christmas Eve and includes exceptions for workers in certain industries, who may continue to travel freely within the EU.

But the exceptions do not apply to, for example, touring musicians.

A British band on a European tour may therefore need to obtain approved visas for each country, which makes it both more difficult and more expensive to play in neighboring countries.

Name collection

A fundraiser to get the British government to "allow cultural workers to travel without visas in the 27 EU countries" has been started by freelance concert technician Tim Brennan and received over 70,000 signatures.

If the list of 100,000 signatures is accepted, the issue can be raised in the British Parliament.

Fans, music organizations and artists have shared the name collection on social media, where they encourage more people to write their names and underline the importance of the music industry for the UK.