Written by Mackenzie Stolp
As someone who has lived through Melbourne’s extensive lockdown and doing so while watching my home city of Hobart thriving and living, I am very eager to see my friends, have a drink at a bar and generally return back to normal life.
Trusting science and researched opinions, I know vaccinations are our only way to end lockdown and return to a semi-normal life. Although I am not vaccinated yet at the time of writing this, I have both doses booked and ready to go. This week it appears that many of Australia’s best artists and musicians realise this too and have joined forces to create the #VaxTheNation campaign.
More than 400 Australian musicians, such as Tim Minchin, Paul Kelly, Midnight Oil, Amy Shark and more have partnered with leaders of the live entertainment industry to create a national campaign to encourage Australians to get vaccinated and help the country get back on its feet.
Artists and musicians, and live events have been hit hard since lockdown came into effect in March last year, and with minimal support from the government for those affected – it’s beginning to become urgent.
Representatives from ARIA, Live Performance Australia, Australian Festival Association, Live Nation, The Mushroom Group, TEG, and Frontier Touring have combined to create the LIVE Alliance. The LIVE Alliance have declared that a vaccination rate of 80% fully vaccinated is the key to live performances starting again.
This campaign contains a multitude of people within the entertainment industry, from dance companies to ticketing agencies, theatre companies, bands and musicians – everyone is getting on board to get Australia back on track.
Musician Mark Seymour has joined to campaign to call on fans to get vaccinated for both their own wellbeing and the livelihood of those within the industry. He said the music industry has been “smashed” and this is our only way to try and repair it.
“The more vaccinated we are, the bigger crowds can be and the sooner live music can get back on its feet,” Seymour said. “Please consider the artists you love and the thousands of workers who make the gigs happen. Show your support and get it done.”
You can book your vaccine appointment through either HotDoc or the Victorian Government’s vaccination online booking system.