Music industry heavyweights call for visa-free EU travel for performers

Good to see conductor Simon Rattle,  cellist Julian Lloyd Webber and composer  Harrison Birtwistle among more than 160 music industry figures signing a letter to The Times furious with the government for having “shamefully failed” performers over its post-Brexit visa arrangements.
The letter, also signed by Sting, Elton John, Bob Geldof,  Ed Sheeran and many others, expresses dismay that anyone trying to tour Europe will now face a mass of paperwork, including arranging costly work permits.
It’s a huge departure from the visa-free, seamless travel enjoyed over many decades and will make some tours simply too expensive to be viable. It will also impact disproportionately on young musicians, dancers and actors whose careers are already being sidelined by pandemic restrictions. “This negotiating failure will tip many performers over the edge,” they warn.
Now they are urging the government to negotiate a reciprocal paperwork-free travel deal with the EU for artists, crews and their equipment. The letter follows pressure from MPs and the Federation of Entertainment Unions to sort the matter out. Let's hope they do so, and quick.