The next stage of restrictions has lifted in England, with people returning to pubs and restaurants (outside only, of course) with gusto 🙌

You can feel the optimism in the air once more, but what do these changes mean for the events industry?

In this week’s Bulletin you’ll find an outline of the business events that can take place between now and May 17th, details of the first large event pilot and much more 🎉

All the events you can hold between now and May 17th

Monday 12 April marked Step 2 of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown in England, in which retail and outdoor hospitality settings can partially reopen (hello pub gardens!)

But what does it mean for the events industry?

Some public events can take place from 12 April, such as village fetes, agricultural shows, gardening shows, funfairs and food and drink festivals.

While essential business meetings can take place, the Government makes clear that before Step 3, a venue must not host conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, private dining events or banquets. However, ‘essential work’ such as education or training are permitted in Covid secure venues – no cap on numbers has been specified.

Pilot business event will not require a vaccination certificate

The Good Business Festival will host launch event Change Business for Good on 28 April at ACC Liverpool with up to 1,000 delegates in attendance as part of the Government’s pilot event scheme.

The event will feature lateral flow testing before and after the event, vaccination certificates or passports will not be needed in any form.

These pilot events are a vital step in the road back to in-person events and to establish guidelines in order to get audiences back safely as restrictions are gradually eased.

Eventbrite integrates with Zoom to facilitate hybrid events

Event platform Eventbrite has announced it is integrating further with Zoom, as the company bets on virtual and hybrid events.

Eventbrite has redesigned its integration with the platform, as it builds on the online experiences it facilitated last year. The company says it is now seven times faster to use Zoom in Eventbrite events than previously.

This is yet another partnership within the virtual event space that showcases the format’s staying power and cements the shift we’ve seen over the last year.

Multilingual Video Conferencing Platform KUDO Raises $21 Million

KUDO, a video conferencing platform that provides live interpretation in over 100 languages and 147 sign languages, closed out a $21 million Series A funding round last month.

Yet another sign that virtual events are here to stay but also a sign of the developments in technology we’re seeing and moves towards making these types of events as inclusive and accessible as possible.

HeadBox CEO, Andrew Needham reflects on the last year

He discusses difficult decisions that had to be made, being honest about ‘the brutal facts of reality’ in order to weather the Covid storm, and why he is optimistic about the future.

One year on, with the end of the pandemic now very much in sight, we are looking ahead to a post-Covid world that is fundamentally different to the one before. The crisis has accelerated the digital transformation of events, breaking through previous market inertia to the digital events economy. The rise of virtual means there is an even bigger opportunity for a next-generation platform like HeadBox. So I am optimistic about our future and our ability to emerge from this crisis even stronger.

We’ll be back next month with the next edition of the HeadBox Events Industry Bulletin – don’t miss it.