text: Charlotte Church 'insulted' by government's treatment of creative industry | Metro News
  Charlotte Church slams government's 'insulting' treatment of creative arts during pandemic
  Alicia AdejobiFriday 29 Jan 2021 8:50 am
  Charlotte Church has admitted she's 'disappointed' and 'insulted' by the Government's treatment of the creative arts industry during the coronavirus pandemic.
  The classical singer performed at the Music Feeds virtual concert yesterday, raising money to fight food poverty.
  It was a rare performance for Charlotte who, like thousands of other musicians, have been unable to perform live due to the pandemic closing music venues.
  Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the singer said: 'The entertainment industry has been hit really hard, obviously with no live events or theatre. All the wonderful cultural, artistic healing things that we all get to be a part of but also enjoy that just can't happen.
  'It was just so joyful to be able to sing and do music it was just like, "Remember music?"'
  Charlotte, 34, went on to call out the Government for their lack of financial support for the live music industry despite their large contribution to the UK's economy.
  'The creative industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the whole of the UK, worth something like over £80 billion, so not only is it really important to our economy but also it's vastly important for our wellbeing and our entire culture,' she said.
  3 tracks including this stunning cover by @charlottechurch with the @CarducciQuartet , arranged by @joeduddell
  / Johnny Powell for #MusicFeeds | Tickets: https://t.co/yqnfCRCIbn | 28/29 Jan | Supported by @coopuk pic.twitter.com/7YVhAVZnfB
  — Everybody Belongs Here (@weareEBH) January 26, 2021
  The musician then referred to Chancellor Rishi Sunak's controversial comments that people who are struggling to find work in their fields should 'adapt' new skills.
  Charlotte said: 'So I'm really disappointed with the way the government has treated the arts, especially the sort of "retrain scheme" which I just found frankly quite insulting, the idea that if you're an artist of any type, just retrain.
  'But also at some point this pandemic will be over, it isn't going to last forever so we need to start thinking about what sort of society we want to build, what has it taught us about sustainability, the economy, the way in which we live.
  'There are many lessons to be learnt here and I think this is a wonderful opportunity to reflect.'
  Charlotte will return to the virtual stage again tonight for day two of the Music Feeds festival.
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