Niall Horan will perform a one-off live-streamed concert to raise money for his crew members, the Irish singer-songwriter announced. The gig will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on November 7. Tickets, on sale online from October 16, are reportedly £16 (Dh75.7).
The live entertainment industry hit a major roadblock due to restrictions on public gatherings, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, and touring crews have felt the affects.
“My stage manager is working on a building site… A couple of lads are working in Tesco and Sainsbury’s. If there’s no touring, they don’t have a job,” Horan told the BBC.
“I’m obviously one of the lucky ones, but not everyone is as lucky as me,” he continued. “I’m a 27-year-old dude, I live with one person, my cousin, in the middle of London. I’m fit and I’m healthy … Our crew members are the ones that have basically been forgotten about. Furlough doesn’t touch them — and they are the ones who have mortgages and families and homes and lives to pay for [but] they haven’t got any funds to do so.”
Horan expanded on the plan to perform for his crew. “All of the proceeds that we make, from all those people who come in to watch, I will be giving all of the money to my crew, my touring crew that I would have been touring with this year, and just crew in general,” said the former One Direction member in a video announcement.
The show is in collaboration with the UK-based organisations We Need Crew, which supports these skilled workers through a difficult time.
“We badly, badly need a crew,” continued Horan, who said he will be socially distanced from the band, and the band will be separated, as well. “We’ll play for an hour and 10, or 15 … It’s just gonna be beautiful, I can’t wait to do it.”
