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BUSKING must be allowed “much sooner” than mid-May to give struggling artists a lifeline, the Musicians’ Union (MU) has warned.
The Tory government’s “roadmap” out of lockdown does not permit outdoor live performances until May 17 at the earliest, despite plans for beer gardens and non-essential shops to reopen on April 12.
The MU said on Monday that the arrangement “doesn’t make sense” as it believes street performances can be carried out safely despite the pandemic.
The union urged members to write to their MP to press the issue.
It pointed out that to legally busk under current Covid-19 measures, an artist would need to prove that they were undertaking work and to ensure that they had no audience, rendering any performance largely pointless.
The measures allow some outdoor gatherings to be held “for work purposes,” but the union’s lawyer said buskers may struggle to argue that they meet the criteria for such an allowance if taken to court.
