Backup has joined forces with Big Drop, brewers of alcohol-free beer, to generate wider awareness and increased funding for the live events/entertainment technical supply chain.

“We’re all painfully aware of the devastation that the pandemic caused to our industry around the globe,” says John Simpson, Backup chairman. “The generous response to Backup’s fund-raising efforts over the past two years has been phenomenal, and we’ve been able to offer help to our colleagues in the UK who were and still are in desperate need, both financially and for the impact the situation has had on their mental health.”

As theatres open, and concerts and festivals start to re-emerge, the pandemic is viewed as being over. But it has left serious scars. Help is still needed, as it was pre-pandemic, but now even more so, to allow Backup to continue to address mental health, addiction, poverty, loan repayments, loneliness, and food-bank reliance.

So far, the funds to provide assistance have come primarily from within the industry itself. Whilst Backup is incredibly grateful for their support and belief in the work the charity does, it also recognises there is now a need to reach a wider audience. Big Drop provides an ideal avenue to do just that.

Plans include using the Backup logo on its packaging to help build awareness, running a competition to find the best ‘Big Drop Pour’ in the most extreme or picturesque locations and supporting Backup’s range of mental health initiatives.Big Drop was conceived by friends, bandmates and brewers Rob Fink and James Kindred in response to their own lifestyle changes and the frustration of there being no decent tasting alcohol-free craft beer on the market.

With the help of renowned experimental brewer, Johnny Clayton, they’ve perfected their recipe and now their beers are enjoyed by performers, creatives, adventurers and nine-to-fivers in the UK, Australia, the US, Canada, across Europe and as far afield as South Korea.“Rob and I have seen how much support Backup can give when they helped our oldest friend and bandmate when he was battling terminal cancer,” says Kindred. “Backup were there to support Mark and his family through an incredibly tough time. Supporting Backup is important to us and everyone at Big Drop, we can’t wait to start working with them on some great awareness projects.”“We’re hoping that by joining forces with Big Drop, a brand whose values so perfectly align with our own, and who understand exactly why we do what we do,” adds Simpson. “This new alliance means that we can make many more people aware of the suffering that continues in the entertainment industry, and allow them to help is help the people that bring them so much enjoyment.

”As well as its ongoing addiction awareness and recovery, and mental health and addiction first aider courses, Backup already has a schedule of events planned for 2022, which kicks off with the ever-popular Kartfest on 7 July at Dayton at Esher’s Sandown Park. Big Drop will be there, providing refreshments so the drivers can enjoy a well-deserved alcohol free beer between races and still get back in their cars for the next round. Halloween creativity will be unleashed for the Pumpkin Challenge at the end of October, and Lightpower will soon be sponsoring a photo competition about our industry.