Live Events Industry Launches Coalition in Fight Against COVID-19
Live for Life unites over 80 live event production companies to build temporary patient rooms,
testing centers and more within 72 hours of notification across the U.S.
(April 13, 2020) – Today, over 80 once-competing live event production companies have
banded together to launch Live for Life, a coalition offering engineering and support service
solutions in response to front line needs in the fight against COVID-19. Together, the companies
are applying their world class fabrication capabilities, logistics expertise, significant raw
materials inventories and labor to building essential support systems, including temporary
hospital rooms, testing centers, emergency treatment patient rooms, PPE and more across the
United States.
“Navigating COVID-19 healthcare is in part a logistical challenge – from the need for additional
hospital/ICU beds and drive-through testing centers, to aspects as simple as time and space,”
shared CEO Chris Meyer of George P. Johnson, a founding member of Live for Life. “Together,
the companies involved in the Live for Life coalition recognized that our industry can make a
difference. Event producers specialize in planning complex logistics – in 2019 alone, we fueled
the creation, production, setup, and breakdown of 6,000 events in the U.S. We are highly
organized and efficient, very familiar with operating at scale, and we know how to build the
impossible quickly. Most importantly, we want to help.”
The live events industry impacts over six million people – many of whom are now without income
due to COVID-19 restrictions. Dependent on in-person experiences, the damage to the industry
was swift and significant, and this new alliance channels its defining grit and commitment by
coming together to make a real difference. These people are not just rolling over, they’re
mobilizing.
“The idea to convert empty convention centers to temporary hospitals came to life in a matter of
days. Every leader we contacted agreed to join this coalition without hesitation,” stated Dave
Walens, CEO of founding member, Exploring. “Competitors came together as partners to meet
this extraordinary need. This industry is united and is making it happen.”
As a united force, Live for Life has the volume and capacity to meet the temporary structure
demand facing the U.S. The coalition’s production and labor crews can be deployed regionally
and can have field hospitals operational within 72 hours of notification.
“We recognize that this challenge is larger than any one organization. We are truly
collaborating and learning from each other as an industry,” added Nick Simonette, VP of Sales at
founding member Czarnowski. “Our gratitude and respect for our contemporaries has
exponentially expanded and we cannot wait to come together in a live environment to talk,
shake hands and even hug.”
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