A music gig featuring club DJs will be live streamed on Facebook to raise money for the NHS after a popular music venue closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The #OutOut and Flip & Fill gig was due to take place at The Adrian Flux Waterfront in Norwich on April 9 which was forced to shut due to the outbreak and Boris Johnson’s warning to the public to stop mass social gatherings.
But new gig organiser #OutOut and DJ Mark Hall, one half of electronic dance music duo Flip & Fill, will put the #InIn for NHS gig on its @outoutevents2020 Facebook page on the same day from 9pm.
Refunds from ticket sales from the Waterfront event have been given out but people who watch the gig online can donate as much as they can via the Facebook page. Every penny raised will go towards the NHS.
Graeme Watts, spokesman for #OutOut, said not everyone had to donate if they were struggling financially and was encouraging music acts to take part in the gig - which will be broadcast from different locations around the UK and abroad.
Mr Watts said: “We wanted to brighten up people’s day and help the NHS. If we can raise hundreds of pounds or thousands of pounds, that can go towards a ventilator and save someone’s life.
“We don’t want people to feel they cannot watch it if they cannot afford it. This is about bringing the country together.”
He added the coronavirus outbreak had hit the music and entertainment industry hard but said: “Some things are more important than money. This is about showing our appreciation to the NHS and what it is doing to help us. It is the least we can do as a country. We need to club together a lot more than we are doing right now.”
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DJ Mark Hall is currently in Tenerife and cannot leave due to the virus and so far will be joined by Ipswich-based DJ/producer Jay Funk and DJ Lee Rudd from Dereham on April 9.
“This gig is not about the type of music people play. It is quite exciting. There could be quite a line-up,” Mr Watts added.
Helen Grice, artist manager for Flip & Fill, which formed in the 1990s and tours across the UK, said: “It is to help people keep calm and carry on. You can still party even if you are isolated. The country is going to be on its knees. The NHS is an important cause to keep going.”
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