Reasons to be Hopeful, 1, 2, 3...

In the sea of rubbish that is Brexit, Coronavirus, and whatever else fresh nonsense Johnson is spouting as of late, it’s all too easy to succumb to the waves and drown in a wave of hopelessness. However, beneath the waves, beneath the ripples of questionable vaccine rollouts, Glastonbury’s cancellation and echoes of EU touring legislations, lies a certain calmness. This, as we like to call it, is hope.

Now, it can be difficult to find and it can be especially difficult to recognise it as what it is but, rest assured, it exists. If you’re struggling to find it amidst the storm, then let us do the runt work for you.

• It looks as though we’re actually on track with the Government’s plan for the vaccine roll out to be issued to the most vulnerable by mid-February. You can even keep track of the number of people who have received it on this website - what a fun and weirdly dystopian anecdote!
• The organisers of Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival recently completed a pilot study on the effectiveness of pre-event testing for a non-socially distanced concert. The study found that none of the attendees contracted COVID-19, and outlined that there is no reason that this cannot be rolled out to festivals.
• On the theme of pre-event testing, Albania’s Unum Festival has been the first to announce their event to go ahead in June following a rapid-testing framework upon arrival. Yes, hunny - set those standards!

• The Scottish Government has confirmed that it will be providing further funding for its events industry. With a total of £104.3m split into nine separate funds, the events industry will have its funding allocated from this package. Here’s praying Boris follows suit!
• Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said that the UK Government will look into ways of providing post-Brexit financial support for the music industry. It looks like the constant criticism after the failure to implement visa-free travel in Europe for British musicians has done us some favours!
• Ireland’s Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, has proposed a series of simultaneous concerts staged across the EU to celebrate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic - and it’s won support from cultural ministers all across the EU. Inspired by Live Aid, this is surely something to look forward to - Bob Geldof, eat your heart out!

Some non-industry related things to make you feel better:

• Trump’s first, only and, presumably (please God), last term as the President of The United States is over - yeet!
• The way this Twitter users Mum spells ‘RuPaul’:

• Remember three-year-old Fenn Rosenthal behind Dinosaurs in Love last year? It’s now been made into a Children’s book and Fenn’s a published author! My heart simply cannot take it.
• Seth Rogen’s recent pottery endeavours give us all the wholesome goodness that we didn’t know we needed. Feel like sh*t, just want Seth to make me a vase and buy me flowers to put in it. 😞