Fundraising event held in memory of George Floyd at Walsall bar
A 12-hour fundraising event has been held at a Black Country bar in memory of George Floyd.
Mr Floyd died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes in Minneapolis last month.
Now Memoirs Bar in Walsall has done its bit to show their support by hosting the event on Sunday.
It featured a total of 25 DJs who each had a time slot throughout the 12pm to 12am set – which saw thousands tune into the Facebook live-stream.
Sandy Mann, who owns the Bradford Place-based bar in the town centre, said: "It was really good and went very well – the DJs all had a given time slot to perform and it was really good.
"On the live stream we had thousands of customers dropping in and out – it ended at midnight and we had lots of people asking and interacting with us.
"It's the only way you can really be involved with music at the moment so it was a success."
The event saw £50 raised by viewers – with the artists and the owners having previously donated to the cause.
"On the donations, we raised probably not as much as we wanted to, but the venue was offered up as our donation from our part," the 37-year-old said.
"The DJs donated their time and energy for the effort in memory of George Floyd.
"We did it in memory of Mr Floyd because there's a huge BAME community in the area and they wanted to come together and do something.
"That's how we got involved and I'm sure – if we were open – it would've been a sold out show but it's difficult at the moment.
"But we had a venue, which is vacant, and we offered it up – we've had a lot of events and it's a really popular venue."
The death of Mr Floyd, who was African America, sparked a wave of unrest across the USA and Europe – with riots and protests taking place.
It led to the prominence of the Black Lives Matter campaign – with celebrities and other notable figures having their say in support.